EpaperLHR_21-11-22

Monday, 22 November, 2021 I 16 Rabi-us-Sani, 1443 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 144 I 48 Pages I Lahore Edition

PM IMran vows actIon agaInst land MafIa after dIgItIsed records reveal ‘shockIng’ detaIls g

SayS govt faced maSSive reSiStance in cadaStral maPPing to digitaliSe land recordS

iSLaMaBaD Staff RepoRt

a

fter authorities completed the first phase of cadastral mapping of the state land, Pm imran Khan Sunday vowed to take action against land grabbers and their accomplices.

Pm imran Khan said that his government has faced massive resistance when it began cadastral mapping of Pakistan to digitalise land records “like protests over evms [electronic voting machines]”. “results of Phase 1 survey of state

PakIstan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,281,872

LAST UPDATED AT 8:25 AM ON NOVEMBER 21, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

4

313 DEATHS:

1,230,734 28,659 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

474,058

442,422

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

179,553 AJK/GB:

33,434 ISLAMABAD:

34,532/10,406

Sindh Province toPS liSt of State land encroached by mafia grouPS

lands show why the resistance: phenomenal state land encroachment including of forest land through land mafia-political elite connivance,” he added. “the approximately value of encroached forest land is rs1869 billion. this has aggravated Pakistan’s existing lack of sufficient forest cover,” he added. the Pm shared the documents of the survey on the micro-blogging site, saying the total value of encroached land estimated at about rs5,595 billion.

With this accurate digital record, the premier said the government will now take action against “these land mafias

coronavIrus In

RECOVERED:

g

107,467

and their facilitators”. it is pertinent to note that the Pm’s statement comes after Special assistant to the Prime minister (SaPm) on climate change malik amin aslam earlier in the day shared the digitised cadastral maps of state lands and announced that the premier would share this data with the provinces for strict action against land grabbers encroaching many of these lands. the SaPm, while addressing the media early Sunday shared the latest cadastral maps prepared by Survey of Pakistan of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and balochistan whereas those of Sindh were underway due to information delay from the authorities. “these maps precisely indicate every inch of state land and its encroached area along with proper dates,” he stated. amin said the cadastral mapping was launched by the prime minister one and a half year back to fulfil his promise with the nation to launch punitive and impartial action against the land encroachers. amin underlined that the encroached state land number was highest in Sindh but due to delay in data sharing its cadastre map was in the offing. the SaPm informed that under the cadastral mapping of some 50,000 square kilometres area was covered being conducted in the four federating units of Punjab, K-P, balochistan and Sindh. in Punjab and K-P, he said around 160,000 acres public or state land was encroached that worth rs500 billion. the forest land mapping of 30,000 square kilometers was also completed under the digitised cadastral mapping out of which 700,000 acres forest land was intruded by the land grabbing mafia, he added.

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Bilawal says ouster of PTI govt is solution to all problems karachi Staff RepoRt

PPP chairperson bilawal bhuttoZardari while lashing out at the “incompetency” of those running the country, claimed Sunday that the resolution of all problems of the public lies in the ouster of the Ptiled government. by increasing the gas prices, the government took it out of the reach of the public, bilawal said, adding that if the Pak-iran gas pipeline project of their government would have been completed, there would be no energy crisis in Pakistan. “due to the incompetency of the government, industries are not able to fulfill their export orders today,” he added. expressing serious concerns over the ongoing gas crisis across Pakistan, bilawal bhutto said that Prime minister imran Khan is continuously creating crisis and increasing the miseries of the people. the premier should apologise to the citizens who are starving due to the policies of the Pti-led government, he said.

NAB a tool to force people to change political loyalties: Abbasi LahOrE Staff RepoRt

the national accountability bureau (nab) came under intense fire on Sunday with former prime minister and Pakistan muslim league-nawaz (Pml-n) vice President Shahid Khaqan abbasi accusing it of being employed by powers that be to promote the culture of turncoats and opportunism. abbasi who remained minister for Petroleum and natural resources between 2013 and 2017 before assuming the office of the prime minister following the judicial ouster of Pml-n supreme leader nawaz Sharif in a money laundering case is facing a nab reference pertaining to the award of a liquefied natural gas (lng) terminal project to a company purportedly of his liking. in 2018, the dirty money watchdog opened an inquiry against him, Sharif and others “for granting a 15-year contract of lng terminal to a company of their liking in violation of rules and by misuse of their powers, which caused (the) national exchequer a loss of billions of rupees”. addressing a gathering comprised mostly of members

responding to a question about the prevailing gas crisis, the PPP leader said that there would be no gas crisis in the country if the government would have imported lng timely. earlier, while taking a jibe at the ruling party for bulldozing the electoral bills in a joint sitting of Parliament, former president asif Zardari had said they [the Pti government] were using all their energy to sow the seeds of this legislation, but they will not benefit its fruits, and rather someone else will reap the benefits.

Questioned over the joint session being convened without taking the opposition into confidence and whether the government succeeded in its plans, Zardari had replied the government was getting success due to other reasons. “and you know the other reasons better,” he had said. “the government is using all its energy to sow the seeds of this legislation, but someone else will benefit from its fruits,” the former president had added.

more inside

Attorney-General hints at more electoral reforms in pipeline STORY ON BACK PAGE

of the legal fraternity during the two-day asma Jahangir conference in lahore which concluded Sunday, abbasi said: “i am all for accountability — if you want accountability [but] nab is not accountability.” “nab is whatever it is […] it’s political engineering, it is manipulating politics, it is punishing people without convicting them,” a visibly fumed abbasi said. he claimed the agency is about “victimisation […] not that of an individual, or a group of individuals, or even a political party. but the entity paying the price (of its activities) today are

the people of Pakistan.” abbasi recounted that in one of the cases filed against him, the charge sheet was 35 pages long but the nab reference was 19 pages long. “you can write anything in any charge sheet […] what are we doing, where are we going,” he lamented. abbasi said the question of accountability or victimisation is something that is discussed a lot “but the reality of the situation remains unclear”. “it remains unclear because we deliberately cloud the facts.”

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Speech by an absconder at concluding asma Jahangir conference ‘contempt of judiciary’: fawad STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue

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Monday, 22 november, 2021 | LAHORe

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PAk LAunches ‘DIGItAL DeRA’ APP tO bOOst DIGItAL fARMInG ISLAMABAD

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stAff report

HINA’S digital farming and smart agriculture practices are going to be a shot in the arm of Pakistan’s agriculture growth with inspiration from Chinese agro-based innovative technologies and techniques.

A group of young Pakistani agri-tech entrepreneurs have pioneered a project “Digital Dera” in district Pakpattan, around 148 kilometres away from Lahore.

A tech-savvy project “Digital Dera” aims to empower farmers with cutting-edge agriculture solutions and assist them in the

creation of smart communities.

The founder of “Digital Dera” and cofounder of a Think Tank ‘Agriculture Republic’, Aamer Hayat Bhandara emphasised that data, information, advisory and technology are pre-requisites for maximising agricultural growth.

He believed that despite the ideal weather and fertile land, Pakistan is unable to achieve the standard yield due to the lack of modern agricultural techniques. He also urged the usage of sensors to assist farmers in making accurate decisions for their crops.

He was of the view that because China is leading the world in technological

innovation, therefore, he proposed that Chinese agro-based companies aligned with modern agriculture vision may digitally equip Pakistani farmers by transferring technology of agriculture drones, geotagging, data collection through satellite imagery, electric tractors and human resource development.

Talking about the impact and prospects of “Digital Dera”, he said that this model can easily be replicated anywhere in the country.

He also looked forward to collaborating with China on capacity building and the transfer of digital technology in agriculture.

It is an encouraging development that footprints of China digital farming in

Pakistan are getting visible. Farmland Digital Integrated Management System, which Shandong ARK IT Business implemented in east China’s Shandong Province, is now working on digital agriculture development in Pakistan.

While supplying high-quality drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation equipment, the company also uses artificial intelligence technologies to help Pakistan’s small farmers and large-scale plantations save money and boost efficiency. The Farmland Digital Integrated Management System’s machine vision and intelligence are primarily used for monitoring plant diseases and insect pests. To achieve agricultural production prediction, pest control, and other challenges, the system uses artificial intelligence technologies such as computer vision, picture recognition, and deep learning.

Pakistani farmers can directly replicate the advanced Chinese agricultural technology in order to accomplish higher crop yields to ensure food security in the country.

It should be noted that, Pakistani food imports have risen by 54 per cent during the

Sidhu calls Imran elder brother, draws flak from India hardliners NEW DELHI

PM tasks Mahmoodur Rasheed for early LG elections in Punjab ISLAMABAD Agencies

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Punjab Local Government and Community Development Department Minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed to hold Local Bodies elections in Punjab early and to complete all arrangements and legal proceedings in this regard. The directives were issued by the prime minister during his meeting with the provincial minister whole called on him at Prime Minister’s House here on Sunday. The meeting discussed the holding of Local Bodies elections in Punjab and other issues of national interest. Prime Minister Imran Khan also instructed to get the Punjab Local Government Act 2021 passed by the Punjab Assembly soon. On this occasion, Mian Mahmood ur Rasheed gave a detailed briefing to the prime minister regarding the preparations for the local bodies elections and also apprised him about the salient features of the Local Government Act 2021. He said that the Local Government Act has been drafted in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The purpose of this act is to ensure the devolution of power to the lower level and this will make the local bodies more empowered. An effective system of Local Government will solve the problems of the people at their doorstep. Mian Mahmood ur Rasheed further said that the new Local Government system will play an important role in solving the problems of the people at the grassroots level as empowering the people through devolution of power is our top priority. During the meeting, the Prime Minister also directed to hold events related to Insaf Health Card and Ehsas program.

Over 1mn refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran in 2021: report KABUL Monitoring report

More than 1 million refugees have returned, or been deported, to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran since the beginning of this year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said. The undocumented returnees are burdened by debts, and without community support, said the body on Twitter.

“More than a million Afghan migrants have returned or been deported to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan this year and are in urgent need of support,” it said.

The IOM protection teams are assisting the returnees at a challenging time, the agency said. The statement came as the UN agencies, aid organisations and a number of non-governmental organisations are racing against time to deliver life-saving aid and supplies to crisis-hit Afghans ahead of winter.

news desk

Cricket start-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was embroiled in a controversy over his comment about Prime Minister Imran Khan after he crossed the Kartarpur Corridor to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur town on Saturday, the Times of India reported.

Members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fiercely objected to Sidhu describing Khan as his “bara bhai (elder brother)” while talking to Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muhammad Latif who welcomed the president of Indian National Congress’ Punjab chapter on behalf of the prime minister.

The party targeted Sidhu and INC leader Rahul Gandhi and also raised the issue of Sidhu hugging Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Pakistan for Khan’s swearing-in ceremony in August 2018. During an interaction with the media later, Sidhu was very clear he had nothing to say. “Let BJP say whatever it wants,” he said.

Sidhu’s short visit via the 4.5-kilometre visa-free corridor had already led to speculation of a rift between Sidhu and chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the former was not included in the delegation that accompanied the latter to the gurdwara on November 18.

Highlighting the immense trade potential between Pakistan and India during his interaction with the media, Sidhu said this could guarantee economic prosperity for both countries.

Vajpayee bus Visit to Lahore: “I request that if you want to change lives in Punjab, we should open the borders (for cross-border trade). Why should we go through Mundra Port, a total of 2,100 km? Why not from here, where it’s only 21 km (between Amritsar and Lahore),” he said.

last fiscal year. In Pakistan, various factors have contributed to increased food imports, and one of them is low crop yield.

According to a study conducted by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in 2020, Pakistan is far behind other countries, as far as crop yield is concerned.

This study emphasised the use of technology to improve crop yield.

Traditional farms are considerably less efficient and sustainable than digital farms, whereas digital farming entails the use of new technologies such as data science, digital communication channels, automation, and sensors.

As a result, an increasing number of farmers have access to improved data, allowing them to make better decisions in order to increase output and reduce waste.

By employing modern technology and digitizing the agriculture regime of the country through Chinese collaboration, Pakistan can address food security issues, save foreign exchange by lowering food imports and can also enhance the income of millions of farmers across the country.

El Salvador plans first ‘Bitcoin City’, backed by bitcoin bonds MIZATA Agencies

“When Karachi-Mumbai route can be opened for the rich, why can’t the Lahore-Amritsar route be opened for common Punjabis? Why shouldn’t the whole of Punjab not visit Nankana Sahib? Why should tourism not be promoted?” Sidhu questioned as he promoted religious and medical tourism between the two neighbouring nations.

He recalled the 1999 visit of the then India Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lahore on a bus and said that it had opened a “passage of love and peace” between two countries. He said spiritual, religious, and medical tourism had the capacity to change the destinies of nations. Sidhu also talked about the opening of Hindu temples in Pakistan. “If the life of Punjab has to change then trade and medical tourism has to begin,” he said and praised Khan as “an intellectual that would think about these issues”.

Once both Punjabs start trading, they would achieve prosperity in no time, he said. “If this happens, both Punjabs, and both nations will progress within six months as much as they should have in 60 years. It’s a golden opportunity to change the lives of people. I request (Narendra) Modi sahib and Khan sahib to open the doors.

Trade has a $275,000 crore potential,” Sidhu explained.

Accompanied by senior Congress leaders and ministers, including Pargat Singh, Aruna Chaudhary, Mohinder Singh KP, Kulbir Singh Zira, and Amit Vij, Sidhu also gave an example of the European Union as he advised people to take lessons from history.

Innumerable lives, he said during his press meet at Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, a video of which he uploaded on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, were lost during war between European countries.

“But when war ended, these countries not only opened their borders on single visa but also introduced a single currency Euro which is one of the strongest now,” he said.

El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”, funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday, doubling down on his bet to harness the crypto currency to fuel investment in the Central American country. Speaking at an event closing a week-long promotion of bitcoin in El Salvador, Bukele said the city planned in the eastern region of La Union would get geothermal power from a volcano and not levy any taxes except for value added tax (VAT). “Invest here and make all the money you want,” Bukele said in English, dressed all in white and wearing a reversed baseball cap, in the beach resort of Mizata. “This is a fully ecological city that works and is energized by a volcano.” Half of the VAT levied would be used to fund the bonds issued to build the city, and the other half would pay for services such as garbage collection, Bukele said, estimating the public infrastructure would cost around 300,000 bitcoins. El Salvador in September became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Although Bukele is a popular president, opinion polls show Salvadorans are skeptical about his love of bitcoin, and its bumpy introduction has fueled protests against the government. Likening his plan to cities founded by Alexander the Great, Bukele said Bitcoin City would be circular, with an airport, residential and commercial areas, and feature a central plaza designed to look like a bitcoin symbol from the air. “If you want bitcoin to spread over the world, we should build some Alexandrias,” said Bukele, a tech savvy 40-yearold who in September proclaimed himself “dictator” of El Salvador on Twitter in an apparent joke. El Salvador planned to issue the initial bonds in 2022, Bukele said, suggesting it would be in 60 days time. Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of blockchain technology provider Blockstream, told the gathering the first 10-year issue, known as the “volcano bond”, would be worth $1 billion, backed by bitcoin and carrying a coupon of 6.5%.

Nawaz Sharif for devising national agenda to pull Pakistan out of current crises LAHORE stAff correspondent

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Sunday called for immediately devising a national agenda to pull Pakistan out of its current crises and take it on the path of democracy, reiterating the need to “put our house in order”.

Addressing the participants of Asma Jahangir Conference, the former premier once again hit out at the military establishment and criticised interference in judicial and government affairs that he claimed had led to Pakistan’s ‘downfall’.

He said the current era that Pakistan was going through was a ‘turning point’ in its history.

“The most dangerous aspect is the deepening disappointment and severe helplessness [among the people],” he said, adding,”History is witness that when nations descend into the quagmire of despair, questions start to be raised about that nation’s survival.”

He said the 220 million people of Pakistan were demanding answers to some fundamental questions and until they received those, the country’s state of affairs would not improve.

“If the questions being raised are muzzled, this does not resolve problems,” he added, likening the allegedly deliberate internet disruption during his speech to “muzzling [our] voice”.

“Will this solve problems? And then picking up those asking questions and disappearing them, will that end the questions? Unfortunately, the current era has proven to be the blackest for freedom of speech and human rights.” Nawaz said regional and international circumstances had accentuated Pakistan’s need to

“correct ourselves”.

“That is why I said repeatedly that we have to put our house in order and we should open our eyes. Then the drama of ‘Dawn leaks’ was staged against us, punishments were given to us through fake cases, and then you saw how [we] were humiliated,” he told the audience. But Sharif said the time had come for the voices present at the event to “gather on one platform and draft a national agenda and give it the shape of a national movement”, for the sake of the rule of law and democracy.

“My suggestion is that [based on] all the recommendations given in this conference, an immediate strategy be formed and everyone sit together, so that the path of practical struggle can be adopted. It is very important. We have been too late and cannot afford more delay. This work should be done today,” he stressed. Taking action now, Nawaz said, “can help pull the country out of the chasm it has fallen into and put it on the path of its destination again”.

“If this is not done, then lifting it again will become

impossible and history will not forgive us.”

Organisers denounce ‘muzzling’ of Sharif’s speech The organisers of the Asma Jahangir Conference condemned the alleged “muzzling” of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s speech on Sunday, after internet services at the venue were reportedly suspended soon after his address began.

Nawaz began his speech — relayed from London via video link during the closing ceremony of the keenly watched conference held in Lahore — by paying tribute to the late celebrated lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir, but the live stream abruptly stopped shortly after.

In a statement issued after the event, the organisers regretted what they termed “the state’s highhandedness” for allegedly blocking Nawaz’s speech.

“The internet provider was restrained from providing the organisers with internet services for the conference two hours before the closing and Mr Sharif’s speech was supposed to start,” the statement said, adding that cellular internet services were also cut off two hours before the closing session in the vicinity of the Avari Hotel Lahore. “The organisers of Asma Jahangir Conference 2021, which include the Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Bar Council, and the AGHS, strongly condemn this act and consider it an onslaught on the freedom of expression.”

When reached for comment on the allegations, federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said he was not aware of any such move by the authorities.

Meanwhile, Punjab government spokesperson Hassan Khawar did not respond to the request for comment.

Monday, 22 november, 2021 | LAHORe

PAkIstAn enGAGInG tALIbAn tO heLP cOunteRteRRORIsM effORts

ISLAMABAD

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Monitoring report

AKISTAN Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan has said that Pakistan’s active engagement with the Taliban government in Kabul was aimed at extending cooperation against terrorist groups like banned Daesh, ETIM and TTP. Responding to a question during an interview about the “Troika Plus” demand of the Taliban to cut ties with terrorist groups, the Pakistani ambassador said the Taliban leadership insists they believe in counterterrorism and is taking effective steps against Daesh.

“Daesh has increased attacks in Afghanistan. There is also the banned TTP and ETIM (East Turkestan Islamic Movement). This is also part of the Doha agreement for the Taliban to cut ties with terrorist groups,” he said.

“Terrorist groups are present in Afghanistan and Afghanistan is part of counter-terrorism efforts with the international community. It does not mean we accuse the Taliban but we emphasise this as a basic point,” he said, adding that China is engaged with the Taliban on the ETIM.

The envoy said that Pakistan was engaging Kabul administration like its other neighbours to help resolving issues of inclusivity, counter-terrorism, human rights and to ward off humanitarian crises.

The envoy told media that Pakistan’s engagement and interaction with the Afghan interim government is on two levels.

“One: we engage the interim Afghan government on political issues such as inclusivity, human rights and counter-terrorism like the international community.

Second: bilaterally, we engage the Afghan government to know as to what kind of cooperation could be extended for a solution to humanitarian and economic problems and to facilitate the people,” he said.

The ambassador explained that as part of Pakistan’s policy, four working groups were formed during the visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to Kabul in October on people’s movement, trade, transit and commerce, air connectivity and cooperation in the fields of security and intelligence.

Speaking on movement between the two neighbours that Pakistan seeks additional flights to Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar and Herat from Islamabad.

Pakistan and Afghanistan currently have flights only between Islamabad and Kabul. Last month,

Pakistan International Airlines suspended flights to Kabul after the Taliban asked it to reduce fares. The Afghan-based Ariana airlines has also resumed KabulIslamabad flights.

The ambassador said the Afghan side also wants flights to Karachi, Quetta and Lahore, for which the respective civil aviation authorities of Pakistan and Afghanistan will decide about the strategy.

“Both sides held follow up discussions on those issues during the high level visit of acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi. Two other ministers were part of the high level Afghan delegation.

Both sides have agreed on a very effective facilitating system for the cross-border movement of people and cargo. Both countries have agreed in principle to allow each other’s trucks up to the borders and a system is being formulated related to the documentation,” Ambassador Khan said.

He said Pakistan and Afghanistan have also agreed to expand bus services to the Islamabad-Kabul route after the revival of Peshawar-Jalalabad bus service.

“There is no specific time frame for the start of the Islamabad-Kabul bus service but we will try to start it soon. I will start negotiations with the Afghan officials for the implementation of the decision,” the ambassador said, adding that the bus service will facilitate Afghan citizens who want to travel to Pakistan for medical treatment, business and education.

To a question regarding the formal recognition of the Taliban regime, Khan said that recognition was a completely separate process, adding that “many countries maintain practical engagement with Afghanistan on key issues and high-level Taliban delegations have paid visits to Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Doha”.

Similarly, he added, foreign ministers and senior officials of other countries have visited Kabul for practical engagements as there are difficulties in Afghanistan and these countries, including its neighbours, want to help Afghanistan at this critical juncture.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have also extended the ‘Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) 2010’ for six months beyond November 11, 2021, the ambassador said.

He said APTTA’s six-month extension expired on Nov 11 when the Pakistan and Afghan delegations were holding talks in Islamabad and both agreed in principle to continue the APTTA process for the next six months.

Former CJP Saqib nisar terms leaked audio clip ‘fabricated’ ISLAMABAD Monitoring report

Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar has termed an alleged leaked audio clip of his conversation with an unidentified person, in which he purportedly passed instructions to sentence former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as “fabricated” and contrary to facts.

His reaction comes after a Pakistani journalist claimed in a story published in a little known website that Nisar, as the top judge of the country, had instructed his sub-ordinates to sentence the former premier and his daughter Maryam at the behest of “institutions” in 2018.

Journalist Ahmed Noorani also shared the audio clip claiming that the former CJP had directed to send Nawaz and Maryam to jail “as institutions wanted to bring [Prime Minister] Imran Khan into power”.

“I have just listened to this audio, this audio is fake which has been attributed to me,” said Justice (retd) Nisar in response to the clip.

“Let me be a little blunt about it; unfortunately, here it is the ‘institutions’ which dictate judgments. In this case, we will have to penalise Mian Sahib [Nawaz Sharif,” the former CJP can be heard saying in the dubious leaked conversation.

“And ‘they’ say ‘we shall bring Khan Sahib’. Regardless of the merit, we will have to do it, and even to his daughter [Maryam],” the judge added.

Responding to Nisar as per the clip, the other person whose identify has not been revealed in the story said, “But, in my view, his daughter doesn’t merit a sentence”.

“You are absolutely correct. I did talk to ‘friends’ that something be done about this but they did not agree. There will be no independence of the judiciary, so let it be,” Nisar purportedly responded.

Bilawal lashes out at Govt for gas shortage KARACHI stAff report

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed his concern over the gas shortage in the country, saying Prime Minister Imran Khan is continuously creating crisis after crisis and making people’s lives hard.

In a statement released on Sunday, the PPP chairman regretted that people’s stoves had come cold while ministers instead of making an effort to avert the gas crisis were seen busy holding polemics.

He said that Imran Khan was constantly generating one crisis after another and the only solution to rid of all these crises was to get rid of the PTI government. He asked Imran Khan to extend his apology to the citizens who could not prepare their meals due to the shortage of gas.

Bilawal was of the view if the government had made an order for the LNG supply on time, there would not have been any gas crisis in the country.

“Had the government completed the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project initiated by

the PPP government, the country would not have to confront the energy crisis,” he added.

The PPP chairman lamented though Imran Khan had made a manifold increase in the gas price, but it still was out of people’s reach.

Thanks to the inept government which has failed to tackle the gas crisis, many industries could not realize their export orders, Bilawal added. Bilawal also paid tributes to late PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim on his sixth death anniversary.

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Gwadar residents to get fresh water supply soon ISLAMABAD stAff report

Under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative, Balochistan government has decided to initiate multiple projects for provision of clean water and its fair distribution in the coastal town of Gwadar. The project worth Rs 130 million, would also cater the future water demand and sewerage disposal system in Gwadar, said official sources. Moreover, multiple projects including, implementing water supply, distribution system, desalination plant, sewerage collection system and treatment plant has also been planned in the Master Plan of Gwadar. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved PC-I for establishment of five MGD RO plants for Gwadar to purify or desalinate contaminated water of the sea.The lying of pipelines from Swad Dam to Gwadar is near to its completion. The Gwadar, Pasni and surrounding areas would be provided clean drinking water through Shadi Kor, Akra Kor dams.

The government would install a network of water pipeline from Akara Dam to Jiwani to ensure uninterrupted supply of water to the residents of the area.

Indonesia sets target of $50bn e-commerce trade with Pakistan by 2025 ISLAMABAD App

Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam Mulawarman Tugio on Sunday said that Indonesia has set a target of $50 billion e-commerce trade with Pakistan by 2025. “There are vast opportunities in e-commerce trade between Pakistan and Indonesia, which will increase bilateral trade and investment opportunities on both sides,” Tugio told APP. The ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia are countries with large youth populations that can make their mark in the global e-commerce trade and create vast employment opportunities in both countries. He said that global retail e-commerce sales in 2020 stood at $4.28 trillion, which is expected to reach $5.4 trillion by 2022 whereas the current era of was of Information Technology (IT) and online connectivity in the world wherein big global brands are connected to both small and big markets. “This situation presents many opportunities,” he added. The Indonesian ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia can be linked with e-commerce trade to increase bilateral trade as well as connect both sides’ youth in connection of business and trade. “With such connections, young people from both countries can benefit from each other’s experiences and skills to promote economic and cultural integration,” he stressed. He said that e-commerce integration in both the countries could also help in promoting tourism in both of countries and strengthen the ties between the people of both countries. Tugio said that Pakistan and Indonesia are among the most beautiful countries in the world and with the promotion of tourism in both countries, mutual economic activities would reach its peak. Replying to a question, he said that Indonesia had made investments in palm oil in Karachi to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, adding that steps would be taken to invest in Faisalabad’s textile sector in the near future. The ambassador further said that Pakistan and Indonesia had strong prospects for the proposed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which would help strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries. “A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) already exists in both countries which opens up the possibility of increasing bilateral trade,” he said. He said Indonesia had recently reduced trade tariffs for facilitating Pakistan in 20 trade items in the bilateral PTA review and added that progress was being made to enhance economic and trade integration between Pakistan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

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Monday, 22 November, 2021 | LAHORE

04 NEWS

Pakistan fully PrePared to resPond to indian aggression: fo

IsLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

AKISTAN Sunday said it was fully capable to respond to Indian aggression but will act responsibly to promote peace. In an official statement, Foreign Office spokesperson strongly rejected what it called ‘highly irresponsible, provocative and gratuitous’ remarks by the Indian Defence Minister threatening Pakistan.

“The unfounded remarks (by Indian defence minister) are delusional on the one hand, and re-

News Desk The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a 3,000-kilometer-long route of infrastructure projects connecting northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, CGTN reported.

The first hydropower project along this corridor, the Karot Hydropower Plant, closed the gates of its diversion tunnels on Saturday after six years of construction, and officially started to impound water. That’s the accumulation of water in its reservoir for future use.

It’s a milestone event, marking the completion of around 95 percent of the project.

Engineers recounted challenges in the construction of the hydropower plant.

“We spent two years working out solutions to cope with the sandstone and mudstone underground, which interrupted our grouting work.

We made it after repeated trial and error. The cement used for the construction was produced locally, so we tried very hard to control temperature rise and reduce cracks in the concrete,” Zuo Yaxi, head of the Engineering Department of China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited, told CGTN in an interview.

The Karot Hydropower Plant is located on the Jhelum river in Punjab. With an installed capacity of 7,200 megawatts, it can provide over 3 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy each year, supplying electricity to about 5 million people in the country. The project not only provided employment but will also bring down electricity costs for consumers.

N.A. Zubeiri, CSAIL senior consultant explained to CGTN that “during construction, about 3,000 to 5,000 people will be employed, and they’re already employed here. Another

flective of India’s characteristic hostility towards its neighbours on the other,” the statement added.

“India’s smear campaign against Pakistan has been totally exposed and discredited. It has no takers in the international community. It is no secret that Indian leaders engage in falsehoods and fantasies while pointing fingers at neighbours including Pakistan,” the statement added.

“In doing so India wants to divert the attention of the international community from the widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian Illegally

Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” the statement said. The statement added that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any aggression. “The entire world was witness to Pakistan’s capability and resolve in thwarting the Indian misadventure in February 2019. It is a well documented fact that Indian occupation forces have been committing egregious human rights violations and grave crimes against innocent Kashmiris in IIOJK including extra-judicial killings, custodial deaths, torture, arbitrary detentions, using people including innocent children as human shield, and collective punishment by demolishing homes,” the statement added.

“The Dossier presented by Pakistan to the international community in September 2021 contains incontrovertible evidence of the gross and systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity by Indian occupation forces in IIOJK,” the statement asserted.

“Indian government’s frustration is evident from the fact that despite its unabated state-terrorism in IIOJK, it has utterly failed to silence the peaceful voices of Kashmiris demanding their right to self-determination promised to them by the United Nations Security Council in its various Resolutions,” it said. “While fully prepared to respond to India’s provocations and irresponsible behaviour, Pakistan will continue to act responsibly and contribute to all efforts for promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond,” the statement concluded.

Karot hydropower plant starts impounding water

important thing is that the tariff for the project is around 7.5 U.S. cents per unit. So consumers in Pakistan will get cheaper electricity from this basic project.”

The project is an investment by China Three Gorges Corporation, a Chinese enterprise that’s among the world’s largest producers of hydroelectric power. Its subsidiary, the CSAIL, holds the majority share of the Karot Power Company that operates the plant.

The plant will be transferred to the provincial government after 30 years.

“This project is coming from private sectors. After completing 30 years, this project will be transferred to the provincial government, which means the government of Punjab will get a project of $1.7 billion for free,” Zubeiri added.

The Karot Hydropower Plant on is the first investment project of the Silk Road Fund, and is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Once completed, it’s expected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan by 3.5 million tonnes per year.

Bilawal lashes out at govt for gas shortage KARACHI: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed his concern over the gas shortage in the country, saying Prime Minister Imran Khan is continuously creating crisis after crisis and making people’s lives hard. In a statement released on Sunday, the PPP chairman regretted that people’s stoves had come cold while ministers instead of making an effort to avert the gas crisis were seen busy holding polemics. He said that Imran Khan was constantly generating one crisis after another and the only solution to rid of all these crises was to get rid of the PTI government. He asked Imran Khan to extend his apology to the citizens who could not prepare their meals due to the shortage of gas. Bilawal was of the view if the government had made an order for the LNG supply on time, there would not have been any gas crisis in the country. “Had the government completed the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project initiated by the PPP government, the country would not have to confront the energy crisis,” he added. The PPP chairman lamented though Imran Khan had made a manifold increase in the gas price, but it still was out of people’s reach. Thanks to the inept government which has failed to tackle the gas crisis, many industries could not realize their export orders, Bilawal added. Bilawal also paid tributes to late PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim on his sixth death anniversary. Staff RepoRt

aPHC concerned about Hurriyat leaders’ plight in jails

ISLAMABAD: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has expressed grave concern over the plight of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists, the prisoners of conscience, who have been deprived of their fundamental rights as prisoners of conscience. According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar lashed out at the fascist Indian jail authorities and said that the inhuman behaviour meted out to the Hurriyat leaders and activists in the hell-like jails of India and within the occupied territory has no comparison in the human history. He said, the Hurriyat leadership, incarcerated on flimsy and fabricated charges are humiliated and disrespected in jails and are treated as worst criminals, said the spokesman.

Dozens of aged leaders and activists have been suffering from multiple ailments but they are not provided necessary medical treatment, suitable diet and hygienic lodgings within the jails, he added. The spokesman, paying glorious tributes to the steadfastness and strong commitment of the illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists, said that incarcerated Chairman of APHC, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Vice Chairman Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Dr Shafi Shariati, Dr Hamid Fayaz, Dr Qasim, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheedah Nasreen, Fàhmidah Sofi, Dr GM Butt, Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, Maqsood Ahamad Butt, Mohammed Ayoub Dar, Muhammad Yousaf Mir, Muhammad Yousaf Falahi, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Raja Merajudin Kalwal, Nayeem Ahamad Khan, Peer Saifullah, Shahidul Islam, Farooq Ahamad Dar, Shaukat Ahmad Khan, GH.Qadir Butt, Shakeel Yousaf, Shahid Yousuf, Mujahid Sehrai, Rashid Sehrai, Muhammad Rafiq Ganaie, Assdullah Parray, Zahoor Butt,Ghazanfar Iqbal, Arif Wani, Nazir Khan, Arif Najar, Asif Sultan, Adil Zargar, Iqbal Ahmed, Abdul Rashid Lone and thousands of other illegally detained leaders and activists of the resistance movement were languishing in Tihar, Agra, Jodhpur, Karnal, Jejhar and other jails.

The APHC spokesman urged the United Nations Council for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Asia Watch and International Committee of the Red Cross to impress upon India to allow them to take on spot account of the pathetic conditions of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists.

He appealed to the United Nations to take serious action against Indian brutalities inflicted on the innocent freedom-loving prisoners lodged in Indian jails and help resolve the Kashmir dispute so that durable peace could be established in the region. app

88,687 inmates against 65,168 sanctioned capacity in jails: report IsLAMABAD app

The Federal Ombudsman Secretariat has presented its 10th quarterly implementation report on the progress of implementation in improving jails conditions of Pakistan in the Supreme of Pakistan in a Suo Motu Case No.1 of 2016. The report was presented by the Secretary WMS Ejaz Ahmed Khan.

The report said that the Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz held number of meetings at the four provincial headquarters with the Chief Secretaries, Home Departments and IG Prisons of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, Sindh and Baluchistan in the matter.

The report stated that the Federal Ombudsman has directed all the Provincial Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan that biometric identification system integrated with all departments of criminal administrative justice system with a common interface must be functionalized on priority at all jails.

The report stated that 88,687 prisoners were present in 116 jails of the country against 65,168 sanctioned inmates, whereas 1399 female and 1430 Juvenile prisoners

were in all jails of Pakistan. The drug addicts and mentally retarded prisoners have already been segregated in all jails of Pakistan. In this regard a number of meetings were held with the Chief Secretaries of four provinces and other stakeholders for making 10th quarterly implementation report on Jails Reforms Recommendations for presenting it before the Apex Court.

The report said that the Ministry of Interior had presented a progress report regarding construction of Model Jail in Islamabad which shows that 98% work on construction of boundary wall has been completed, whereas, 73% work in construction of Admin Blocks, 42% of Male Barracks and 6% work in other infrastructure works have been completed. The Ombudsman directed the Interior Ministry to complete the entire work of the model jail on speedy lines.

The Sindh government has informed that overcrowding in jails would ease the burden by construction of three new jails in the current financial year i.e. in Benazirabad, Thatta and District Prison Malir, Karachi with the capacity of 1500 prisoners. Moreover, Sindh government has allocated Rs.1010 million for construction of new jails in Tharparker, Mithi, Umarkot, Kashmore, and Kandkot. The

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Sindh Prisons and Correctional Service have successfully started Prisons Management Information System which will monitor and verify the prisoner’s identity through Biometric Identification System, which has also been linked with Police and NADRA on 2nd November, 2021.

The IG Prisons KP stated that 37% overcrowding of inmates has been eased due to up-gradation of different jails in KP. He also said the district jails in Swat and Hangu would be completed in the current financial year.

He informed that 56 visits of DOCs, 15 visits of Provin-

cial Oversight Committees (POC) were made and five meetings of the POC were convened to improve the jail’s conditions in KP. The IG Prisons Punjab informed that kits for screening of drug addicts in 10 different substances have been issued to all jails for screening the drug addicts in all jails of Punjab. He informed that 86 water filtration plants have been functionalized in Punjab jails with the help of ADP schemes and NGOs. The Punjab Prisons department has signed an MOU with NADRA and PITB and the work has been started on speedy lines for implementation of biometric management system with all departments of criminal justice system in Punjab. The Balochistan government informed that the Prisons department has started work on implementation of biometric information management system with the help of UNODC which would be completed next year.

The Drug Rehabilitation Centers in five jails have been started with the help of ANF. The IG prisons informed that 271 wash rooms and 04 filtration plats have been fully functionalized in different jails. He informed that a High Security Jail with different barracks for confinement of hard core criminals/terrorists has been completed with a cost of Rs.10.26 millions has been completed.

Monday, 22 November, 2021 | LAHORE

NEWS

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DACoItS loot RS34 MIllIon In ‘yEAR’S bIggESt RobbERy’ In lAhoRE LAHore

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inP

ACOITS on Sunday looted cash and gold ornaments worth Rs34 million in the ‘biggest robbery of the current year’ in Lahore.

According to the details, armed rob-

ECC orders health ministry to resubmit case on health tax ISLAMABAD

bers stormed into a house located in Lahore’s Johar Town and managed to escape after looting cash and gold ornaments worth Rs34 million.

The suspects looted Rs10million in cash, Rs10.96 million worth of gold ornaments, four diamond rings and expensive wristwatches. The house members were also subjected to torture upon offer-

ing resistance. The case of the biggest robbery has been registered on the complaint of the house owner.

Earlier, Karachi police had claimed to have solved one of the largest robberies in the history of Karachi after arresting the main suspect.

SSP East Irfan Baloch had said the suspect named Husnain Raza alias Shab-

Pakistani aid agency treats 2000 Afghans ahead of harsh winter ISLAMABAD

Shahzad Paracha

Staff rePort

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has directed the ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination to resubmit a case with regard to the imposition of health levy on tobacco and sugar sweetened Beverages before the next budget.

Sources said that ECC meeting held during last week of October considered the summary regarding “Allocation of Health contribution from revenue generated on account of Health Hazard Tax on Tobacco and Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBS) and directed the Ministry to resubmit the case at the time of next budget for consideration/approval.

It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Health had proposed the ECC to impose a health tax Rs10 pack of 20 cigarettes and Rs1 per 250ml of sugar sweetened beverages.

It had also asked to introduce a federal health contribution bill, 2021, to consolidate the law relating to the imposition, collection of the tax on the sale and consumption of certain goods which are harmful to society and individuals. However, the proposal was deferred on the recommendation of the subcommittee of ECC. Sources said that FBR had pressed for the imposition of the tax, informing that additional revenue on account of increase in FED on cigarettes and carbonated, sugar-sweetened beverages during the financial year 2019-20 (FY20) totaled Rs33 billion while the law division advised that the tax can be introduced as an ordinary bill or be promulgated through an ordinance before tabling the bill in the parliament.

It is worth mentioning here that NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs), including heart diseases, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases are collectively responsible for almost 68 per cent of deaths in Pakistan. Similarly, NCDs cause 51pc of total diseases mostly in the youth of the country.

Furthermore, Pakistan is obligated to achieve the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under which it has to reduce one-third of premature mortality due to NCDs by 2030.

Raising taxes on tobacco and other harmful products have long been a dependable and significant revenue source in many countries.

More recently, considerable attention has been paid to the way in which such taxes may also be used to attain public health objectives by reducing the consumption of products with adverse health and social impacts.

Moreover, explicitly earmarking excise taxes on tobacco and other such products to finance public health expenditures will make increasing such taxes politically acceptable and provide the funding needed to increase expenditures, especially for the poor.

city noteS M a niazi

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HAT happened at the joint session will always be held up as an example of democracy in action. The PTI will be able to pull aside foreign delegates and force them to listen to another expounding of how democracy can be used to yield positive results.

The Supreme Court may be asked to adjudicate on whether Speaker Asad Qiser can count or not. It was also interesting to see PM’s Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Babar Awan, who is not a member of either House of Parliament, conduct the proceedings, raking up the seat which the Constitution undoubtedly gives him, but which unelected Advisers don’t take up out of a consideration for the proprieties.

The interesting thing is that the Minister

Pakistan-Afghanistan Cooperation Forum has concluded its free eye camps in Khost and Kabul cities of Afghanistan where 1820 patients were checked and another 219 went through eye surgeries during the first two days.

Over the past few months, Pakistan not only constantly kept urging the international community to come to the urgent aid of Afghan people at a critical time but also it continuously sent humanitarian assistance and taking other measures to help them.

The forum organized the free eye camp at Public Health Office in Khost from November 18-20 and would hold a similar facility from November 22-24 at Jinnah Hospital Kabul.

The patients coming from nearby and remote areas of Afghanistan had expressed satisfaction over the treatment by Pakistani surgeons without any charge.

According to the forum, as the winter season was approaching, a humanitarian crisis, particularly related to health, looms over Afghanistan. It was high time for the international community to come forward and serve humanity.

An Afghan patient present in the medical camp said, “Before that

bir Mota was arrested after a tip-off from Gulistan-e-Jauhar last week. The 22year-old suspect was affiliated with a political religious organisation.

The suspect had reportedly confessed during interrogation to a range or criminal activities including around a dozen incidents of target killing. Police have released the interrogation report of the suspect.

Screening test for CSS exam to be held in Feb 2022, says Shahzad Arbab ISLAMABAD aPP

many Afghan eye specialists checked his eyes and diagnosed cataract. When I came to know about the free eye camp by Pakistani authority, I visited it and after the check-up, the operation was done successfully without any charge”.

He thanked the Pakistan government and the doctors and said, the estimated cost of operation was about Rs 40,000. Pakistan Afghanistan Cooperation Forum was playing an effective role after the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan.

The forum had already sent hundreds of tonnes of edible items and essential goods for the people of Afghanistan. From September 9 till Oct 16, Pakistan has dispatched humanitarian aid including, food, essential medicines, tents and blankets through 84 truck loads and four C-130 aircraft of for the Afghan people.

Besides Prime Minister Imran Khan, International humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned the world of a humanitarian crisis as harsh winters approach.

NAB a tool to force people to change political loyalties: Abbasi contInueD froM pAge 01 The laws, he claimed, are misused and added: “A few who stand up against the practice suffer, and (resultantly) the whole country suffers.”

The former prime minister observed the laws governing the financial sector of the land required him to keep records of the past seven years. However, he was being accused of “something that happened 35 years ago”, he said.

“If you accuse me of something, then you also need to give the record for [the last] 35 years. I definitely cannot. I am all for accountability … [but] NAB is not

accountability,” he said, accusing the anti-graft watchdog of being a tool to carry out political engineering.

“If you want to hold the politicians accountable, it is very simple. The whole world does it. But you don’t need special laws for the purpose, it’s about tax regimes.”

Abbasi said amending the laws regulating the accountability and electoral apparatuses could only be achieved through consensus.

But, he lamented, whenever the opposition presented amendments to the laws in the National Assembly, they were disregarded and branded by the government as an attempt to seek an NRO-like concession.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Establishment, Mohammad Shehzad Arbab has said that the screening test for Central Superior Service (CSS) Competitive Exam 2022 would be held in February next year. Talking to APP, he said that MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) based Preliminary Test (MPT) prior to main written examination of CSS was accorded approval by the Federal Cabinet in its last meeting. The SAPM said the screening test was aimed at filtering the serious candidates for the CSS written exam. It would prove to be a ‘win-win’ not only for the FPSC, but also for the candidates by saving the time of FPSC, as well as, students. He said the initiative would reduce the CSS recruitment process from 20 months to 12 months, enabling FPSC to effectively select highly motivated candidates for the main CSS exam. Shehzad said the screening test before competitive examinations was being practiced all over the world. The test did not take into account domain specific knowledge required to perform in various groups. He said the matter was earlier considered in Cabinet meeting held on December 10, 2019, wherein the proposal for introduction of screening test prior to written exam was not approved.

PM Imran vows action against land mafia after digitised records reveal ‘shocking’ details contInueD froM pAge 01 It is pertinent to note that according to one of the completed digital cadastre map, 71 per cent (10,970 acres) of forest land in District Benazir Abad, Sindh was encroached out of the total 15,450 acres, Takhtpari Forest in Rawalpindi had a total of 2,210 acres area out of which 755 acres almost 34 per cent was encroached.

The Lohi Behr Forest area lying at the border of Rawalpindi and Islamabad had over 57 per cent (629 acres) of its total area of 1,089 acres was encroached by land mafia. Karachi Forest Division which was now called ‘a concrete jungle’ had 2,703 square kilometres forest area originally which was reduced to only 0.4 per cent by the land grabbers.

CountIng on thE SAME PAgE in-charge, Azam Swati, was present as a member of the Senate. He obviously felt he couldn’t handle the marathon task, and left it to Dr Awan. I wonder not just why Mr Swati left his chance to shine to Dr Awan (and boy, do politicians love a moment in the sun!), but why the PTI could not find an elected member to conduct its business. It gives me the feeling that if Imran could have managed it, he would have preferred not to have to mind a constituency. Perhaps that is why he would prefer the presidential system. The whole country votes for the President, not just one constituency.

But be that as it may, the whole process was magnificently managed. It was proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the government is on the same page as you-knowwho. Particularly important was the

Electronic Voting Machines Act, and the ivoting for overseas Pakistanis, which will ensure that any future government elected will also be on the same page.

Being on the same page is important. All those blaming certain individuals for imposing Imran on us should realize that if they had remained on the chase page, no one would have been forced to bring Imran. So actually, it’s their fault that we’ve got Imran.

What does Imran have to offer if it’s not being on the same page? His economic policy? The anti-corruption drive which has not led to a single conviction so far? The secret of reverse swing? Or a cure for cancer?

I wonder if the ECP can deliver on the EVMs. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Election Commission can do it. Not because they’re pro-Nawaz, or because they expect

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a rake-off from the EVM contract (as Azam Swati and Fawad Chaudhry said), but because it has so many bureaucrats, whose ability to actually do anything is a little doubtful. The ECP needs to get on the same page, and deliver positive results. It must give up this strange fixation about free and fair elections, and remember that polls are held only so that no action under Article 6 be taken. True, Article 6 may not mean much, after General Musharraf got away, but the sentence passed on him will haunt all his successors.

Still, there are some untidy remnants of the past. Look at what Rana Shamim, an exchief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan, has been saying about ex-CJP Mr Justice Saqib Nisar. All I can say is that Rana Shamim was obviously not on the same page. If you

look at the subtext of what he said, it shows that certain people or organizations can get whatever judgments they want. The present Chief Justice’s firm rebuttal nonetheless, and his declaration that justice is being done, indicate that somebody was not fit to hold judicial office. Justice is a funny hing.

It is being done if judgments are made in our favour, but not if against us. Doing justice can come into conflict with remaining on the same page.

One person who seems to want to stay on the same page is Indian PM Narendra Modi, who finally gave in to the demands of Indian farmers to repeal legislation they didn’t like. The Opposition is exploring avenues, but I don’t think mobilising farmers is a priority. The Opposition is also seeking ways of getting on the same page

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Monday, 22 November, 2021

06 COMMENT

COP26 and ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’

Speaking out The outcry has been caused by the institutions

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Too much has been postponed to the next conference

heRe is an outburst of criticism of the security institutions, which seems to be caused more by their excess rather than anything else. The speeches at the Asma Jahangir memorial conference in Lahore were not just critical of the government, but also of a particular institution. Former Supreme Court Bar Association President Ali Ahmad Kurd caused a stir by saying that 220 million people were being held hostage by a single general, thus going behind the government to the force that allegedly brought it to power. he was moved to say this because of the recent claim by a former Gilgit-Baltistan chief judge of how the then Chief Justice of Pakistan influenced a high court judge in his presence. This claim was rebutted by the present Chief Justice, Mr Justice Gulzar Ahmad, who said that judgments of the superior courts could not be dictated. however, there is increasing evidence that certain institutions do obtain judgments as they wish, and it seems that the level of interference by these institutions is rising.

Another speech made by pressman hamid Mir was about how the institutions also dictate newspaper coverage. he spoke about the need for freedom of press, which is part of freedom of expression, as a necessary constituent of the freedom of judiciary, which was under attack. his own example can be joined to that of Asad Toor, whose house was invaded and who was roughed up, and Absar Alam, who was shot, as how the new order is enforced.

Perhaps the amount of noise that is being made has to do with the increased level of interference, which is probably the result of a sense of impunity. The mission has changed from merely keeping politicians and political governments subservient, to establishing the dominance of unconstitutional forces. The only safe way out would be to allow the rule of law, which includes freedom of expression, and to abandon all further attempts to subordinate the Constitution. This should not be done out of any highminded desire to establish the Constitution, but because the noise is growing louder, and merely indicates that the task of subordinating an entire people is beyond the ability of those attempting to do so. Despite much effort, the desire for the rule of law has not been rooted out. Someone somewhere should realize that enough is enough, and the institution, indeed the whole nation, is going nowhere with this approach.

Dr Omer JaveD

‘A

FTeR COP26, it is clearer than ever that top-down pledges and policies are not enough. Rather, we need a structural and institutional transformation from the ground up. Our only hope of keeping global warming within “safe” limits (in fact, the agreed target is much safer for some than for others) is to accelerate a green transition with massive, coordinated public investment aimed at innovation leaps and an economic paradigm shift.’– excerpt from a recent Project Syndicate (PS) published article ‘The right institutions for the climate transition’ by Mariana Mazzucato The COP26 summit that took place in Glasgow, culminated in a ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’, the main features of which were highlighted for instance by an economist published article ‘COP26 ends with a pact that is neither a triumph nor a trainwreck’ as follows: ‘More than a day after it was meant to finish, COP26 finally came to an end, with 197 parties agreeing to the newly-dubbed “Glasgow Climate Pact”. There were several notable achievements. Countries committed themselves to further accelerating their decarbonisation plans and, specifically, to strengthening their emissionsreduction targets for 2030 by next year, rather than in 2025 as per the five-year schedule set out under the Paris agreement. Developed countries were “urged” to double funding for adaptation in developing countries by 2025. Rules to create a framework for a global carbon market were approved, settling a problem that had plagued negotiators since 2015. The need to reduce

Staggering from crisis to crisis As the gas crisis tightens its grip, a wheat crisis builds up

This may just be the beginning

Wali eJaz NekOkara

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he US Air Quality Index has portrayed a very grim picture of air quality in Lahore.

Lahore has topped the list of cities having the worst air quality. After Lahore, Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek was second, Delhi tthird, Kolkata fourth, and Karachi fifth.

The rating of particulate Matter (PM) determines the quality of air. The cities possessing AQI value over 300 come under the category of hazardous air quality. Sadly, the rating of particulate matter in Lahore is 327 which make its air quality the worst. In November 2019, the same Index showed Lahore was the world’s second most polluted city.

Smog is made up of smoke and fog in the air and the first time the word ‘smog’ was used in 1950 in London. Smog has two types; photochemical smog and sulfur smog. The type of smog we are witnessing in Lahore is mostly photochemical. It results from hydrocarbon vapors and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. This is commonly found in urban areas.

Some of the leading causes behind smog-related air pollution are coal consumption, industrial emissions, vehicular emissions, massive waste production, and burning agricultural waste. In New Delhi, the burning of crop waste is one of the unavoidable reasons behind the pollution. Lahore’s proximity to the Indian border makes it more vulnerable to pollution.

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

This foot-dragging by countries on important climate change steps is indeed worrisome, as the existential threat of climate change is fast unfolding

Smoggy Lahore

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he country is in the midst of a gas crisis, with a shortage of natural gas hitting both industrial and commercial establishments, as well as residential users. The proposal to limit domestic use to mealtimes was not just considered but adopted, and only the realization of how unpopular this would be made the government rolled back the decision. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the crisis itself was caused by the government’s own lackadaisicalness at the right time. There has been no extraordinary upsurge in demand, and it was known well in advance that LNG had to be imported to meet the winter’s need. Orders were not placed, and now gas terminals in Karachi are empty, because LNG cargoes were not booked in time.

As if the gas shortage, made manifest in low pressures, was not enough, a wheat shortage is brewing up. Mills have forthright said that they are unable to continue at present rates. Does the government now intend to import flour, after it has managed to turn Pakistan from a self-supporting country into a net importer of wheat? Again, this was an issue that could have been predicted. The threat of a strike is not being made by rabble rousers, but by hard-headed businessmen. The reservations which are coming forward now so explosively, should have been dealt with in September, when the Food Department formulated its release policy.

Does the government take food security seriously enough? Where the PTI federal government has gone after people’s meals by pinching the gas they cook with, its Punjab government is following policies that will deprive people of flour, not that they could cook it. Both problems have been caused by a failure to engage in the most elementary planning.

It may not be possible for the government to do anything about gas supplies at the moment, but someone should remember that this is exactly what caused a gas shortage last year. It should not happen next year. The same may apply to milling. Millers are amenable to negotiations. That will solve the problem this year. But next year, the issue must be dealt with in the summer, rather than waiting for winter.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

global greenhouse-gas emissions by a whopping 45% by 2030 was formally recognised. Not the stuff of triumph; but not a trainwreck, either.’

While COP26 ended with overall commitment through ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ to keep moving towards limiting global warming to below 1.5°C, yet the steps agreed upon sadly to do not ensure reaching this global warming target, as pointed out by a Guardian published article ‘COP26 ends in climate agreement despite India watering down coal resolution’ as: ‘The “Glasgow climate pact” was adopted despite a lastminute intervention by India to water down language on “phasing out” coal to merely “phasing down”. The pledges on emissions cuts made at the two-week Cop26 summit in Glasgow fell well short of those required to limit temperatures to 1.5°C, according to scientific advice. Instead, all countries have agreed to return to the negotiating table next year, at a conference in egypt, and re-examine their national plans, with a view to increasing their ambition on cuts.’

In another article ‘Third draft of COP26 text retains key goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C’ published by The Guardian, it was pointed out that COP26 was not able to bring countries to muchneeded commitments and specific details. The article indicated in this regard ‘Nations will be asked to return next year to strengthen their targets on emissions cuts, which are so far inadequate, and to accelerate the phase-out of coal power and fossil fuel subsidies.’

Another issue was the lack of clarity at COP26 on specific mechanisms whereby needed climate finance will be provided to developing countries, especially those which were most vulnerable against climate change. Moreover, the summit did not clearly define what would constitute climate finance, so there was a lack of clarity in this regard also. In a PS published article ‘The rich world’s climate hypocrisy’ by Jayati Ghosh, it was pointed out in this regard: ‘Rich countries, which are responsible for the dominant share of global carbon-dioxide emissions to date, are dithering on longstanding commitments to provide climate finance to developing countries. They are also resisting a proposed

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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operational definition that would prevent them from fudging what counts as climate finance. …A group of 20 countries, including the USA, pledged to end public financing for “unabated” fossil-fuel projects, including those powered by coal, by the end of 2022. But the prohibition applies only to international projects, not domestic ones. Significantly, the USA and several other signatories refused to join the 23 countries that separately committed to stop new coal-power projects within their borders and phase out existing coal infrastructure.’

This foot-dragging by countries on important climate change steps is indeed worrisome, as the existential threat of climate change is fast unfolding. A Guardian published article ‘There has been progress at COP26, but the planet’s fate is still in the balance’ points towards the seriousness of matter with regard to climate change and global warming, and the need for taking urgent and meaningful steps, the situation is calling for. The article indicated in this regard: ‘At present, most analysis indicates that we are heading for a greater rise, around 2.4°C, a level of heating that could have devastating consequences for low-lying nations– including many island states in the Pacific and Caribbean. They face major sea-level rises triggered by melting ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic. At the same time, across the globe, storms could worsen, heatwaves increase in number and intensity, and floods and droughts spread– unless we follow up Cop26 with tighter and tighter deals. Whether we can now avoid breaking the 1.5°C limit is therefore an issue that still hangs in the balance after Glasgow. Over the next 12 months nations are now going to be called on to announce individual, tighter emission goals.’

As far as the effects of smog are concerned, they are numerous and stark. Some of the most common effects of smog are following: 8 Irritation of eyes 8 Coughing 8 Allergies 8 Lung issues and breathing difficulties 8 Asthma 8 Premature deaths 8 Risks of accidents Children are more likely to be hit by the smog. A study shows that “In 1952, Smog in London triggered a sharp increase in the risk of childhood asthma by 19.87 percent”. The presence of smog is a serious threat to longevity and life expectancy. Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, who took part in antismog demonstrations, mentions that “according to Lancet (a medical journal) the astounding numbers of 135,000 people, most of them are children, lost their lives due to air pollution”.

Another document goes further to say that 21,2433 deaths are inflicted upon Pakistan annually by air pollution. Furthermore, the Air Quality Life Index highlights that the Lahore residents’ life expectancy is reduced by five years owing to air pollution.

Anti-smog squads have been constituted by the Lahore administration to cope with this menace. Officials from the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore, the environment Department, the Water and Sanitation Agency, the Lahore electric Supply Corporation, police, and district administration would be included in the Squad. The environment Department’s officials would lead the squad. Various industrial units would be inspected. Industrial units lacking in compliance with the regulations would be penalized or sealed. The

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did MSc. in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among other places. He is author of Springer published book (2016) ‘The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

Provincial Disaster Management Authority has also released its report about measures to curb smog. This report shows that the PDMA has collected Rs 38 million in fines from various sectors such as the local government department, transport department, environment department, agricultural department, and traffic police, etc.

Similarly, because of serious violations, 116 people are arrested and 1,773 cases have been reported by the PDMA. No doubt, concerned authorities are taking measures to grapple with the issue of smog but we need a holistic approach. The measures to prevent smog can be divided into two parts; short-term prevention and long-term prevention.

Short-term prevention demands the use of masks and glasses, limited movement, and avoiding the opening of windows and doors unnecessarily. Longterm planning demands plantation, less use of fuel, factories’ distance from cities, awareness campaigns and stopping the burning of agricultural waste. evergrowing industrialization and urbanization must be handled effectively. According to Fareed Zakaria in his book Ten lessons for a Post-pandemic World, developing countries are likely to see a sharp rise in urbanization. If this happens and we do not take measures then stark consequences are bound to hit Pakistan .

The writer can be reached at waliejaz04@gmail.com

Developing countries are likely to see a sharp rise in urbanization. If this happens and we do not take measures then stark consequences are bound to hit Pakistan

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 22nd November 2021_Layout 1 11/22/2021 12:02 AM Page 2

Monday, 22 November, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Assessing government performance

Attempt to commit suicide Both victim and criminal

Hafiz muHammaD azeem

S

UICIDe is the intentional, voluntary, un-accidental, act of a sane man which results in his own death. In Pakistan, section 325 of Pakistan Penal Code 1860 provides that “whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both”.

The law to punish the attempt to commit suicide is as old as the penal code itself.

Because in the Subcontinent the penal code was designed and enforced by englishmen, it would be judicious to quote Blackstone’s common law view of suicide here: “the law of england wisely and religiously considers that no man hath a power to destroy life but by commission from God, the author of it; and, as the suicide is guilty of a double offence; one spiritual, in invading the prerogative of the Almighty and rushing into his immediate presence uncalled for; the other temporal, against the king, who hath an interest in the preservation of all his subjects; the law has therefore ranked this among the highest crimes, making it a peculiar species of felony, a felony committed on one’s self”.

Presently, according to the World health Organization, more than 700,000 people die due to suicide every year, and for every suicide, there are many more people who attempt suicide. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in 1519-year-olds. The question is: whether the criminalization of suicide-attempt is productive in its prevention? Research answers in No. Rather, it adds more mental issues, agony and sufferings by labelling the victim as accused in society. Astonishingly, this is the only offence where the accused is also the victim.

The main purpose of the legislation is always to diminish the mischief caused by the act or omission which is designated as an offence; so, if the offence attempt-to-commit-suicide is not diminishing the attempts and if the offence is not proving helpful in the prevention of this crime, then is it not indispensable to review the law and to legislate 6n it in accordance with

socio-economic and phycological scenario of our society?

Firstly, the vires of this legislation was discussed by the Bombay high Court in Maruti Shri Pati Dubal Vs State of Maharashtra, 1987 and it was held that the section 309 of Indian Penal Code (which is similar to section 325 of Pakistan Penal Code) unconstitutional on the grounds that: “If the purpose of the prescribed punishment is to prevent the prospective suicides by deterrence, it is difficult to understand how the same can be achieved by punishing those who have made the attempts. Those who make the suicide attempt on account of the mental disorders require psychiatric treatment and not confinement in the prison cells where their condition is bound to worsen leading to further mental derangement. Those on the other hand who make the suicide attempt on account of acute physical ailments, incurable diseases, torture or decrepit physical state induced by old age or disablement need nursing homes and not prisons to prevent them from making the attempts again. No deterrence is further going to hold back those who want to die for a social or political cause or to leave the world either because of the loss of interest in life or for self-deliverance. Thus, in no case the punishment serves the purpose, and in some cases, it is bound to prove self-defeating and counter-productive.”

Then, the Indian Supreme Court in P. Rathinam Vs Union of India, 1994 held the same to be unconstitutional by observing in conclusion “that Section 309 of the Penal Code deserves to be effaced from the statute book to humanise our penal laws. It is a cruel and irrational provision, and it may result in punishing a person again (doubly) who has suffered agony and would be undergoing ignominy because of his failure to commit suicide”. The court also referred to two leading countries in its judgement: the UK and the USA. “At english Common Law suicide was taken as felony as much so that a person who had met his end after committing suicide was not allowed Christian burial… and the property of the person concerned used to get forfeited to the Crown… but times changed, notions changed and presently, even attempt to commit suicide is not a criminal offence, as would appear from Suicide Act, 1961”.

As per above referred judgment, “in the United States by early 1970 comparatively small number of States (9) listed suicide as a crime, although no penalties were exacted”. And then court referred, “the latest American position as it had been mentioned at p. 348 of Columbia Law Review, 1986: Suicide is not a crime under the statutes of any State in the United States. Nor does any State, by statute, make attempting suicide a crime…”

Although P. Rathinam’s case was not approved by the full bench of the Indian Supreme Court, i.e., Smt. Gian Kaur VS the State of Punjab in 1996; despite the grounds and reasoning referred by the court in P. Rathinam’s case deserves much legal appreciation.

Be that as it may, in India, under section 115 of the Mental health Care Act, 2017 presumption of severe stress in case of attempt to commit suicide was provided to the accused.

It provides that “Notwithstanding anything contained in section 309 of the Indian Penal Code any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code”. however, In Pakistan, although the Mental health Ordinance, 2001’s section 49 states that “a person who attempts suicide shall be assessed by an approved psychiatrist and if found to be suffering from a mental disorder shall be treated appropriately under the provisions of this ordinance”, it does not diminish the aftermaths of arrest of the victim-cum-accused under section 325 of PPC. Therefore, it is high time that necessary amendments in penal and procedural laws regarding the attempt to commit suicide be made, because it is a more medical, psychiatric, and sociological issue than a crime. It is also indispensable because, in criminal law, offences must always have justifications. And what justification could there be for punishing a person suffering from mental and psychological illness or with socio-economic issues, which are beyond his or her control.

Therefore, it is high time that necessary amendments in penal and procedural laws regarding the attempt to commit suicide be made, because it is a more medical, psychiatric, and sociological issue than a crime. It is also indispensable because, in criminal law, offences must always have justifications.

And what justification could there be for punishing a person suffering from mental and psychological illness or with socioeconomic issues, which are beyond his or her control

The writer is an Additional District Public Prosecutor and writes on various topics. He holds an LL.M. from the Punjab University and teaches law. He can be reached at Khokhar.azeem@yahoo.com. His articles can be accessed on hmazeem.blospot.com s

GOVeRNANCe is the structure and process that are designed to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, stability, and equity. Unfortunately, the contemporary scenario contradicts this definition. According to a report by The economist, Pakistan has the fourth highest rate of inflation. Prices of essential items are skyrocketing, and they are becoming out of reach for most people.

The government has done little to address the concerns of the people.

Instead, different government ministers have claimed that Pakistan has lower levels of inflation compared to other countries within the region.

Despite government reassurances of price stability, inflation has continuously risen. The much-needed relief package was announced a few weeks ago, but soon after prices of petrol rose once again. In addition, the PTI government promised accountability and transparency during its tenure. however, after three years in office, it has failed to produce sufficient proof of any corruption by the past governments and harbours many who are accused of corruption itself.

In recent months, gender-based violence has risen significantly. The government remained silent for the most part and did little to tackle the rise in violence against women, children and people belonging to minority groups. In conclusion, the people cannot help but wonder whether the state of the country has worsened in the last three years.

There has been an increased sense of despair and hopelessness amongst the people, which has pushed them towards drastic steps. It is about time that the government overhauled its policies to cater to the masses. Or they should be prepared for the consequences.

AzhAr Ali NAwAbShAh

Postponing CSS exams The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) recently announced that the CSS exam for Gilgit-Baltistan will be conducted on November 29. however, to the chagrin of aspirants, the FPSC issued a brief notification on November 11 announcing a delay in the commencement of the exam due to bad weather.

The postponement of the exam has raised a number of questions among candidates who were ready to appear in the CSS. Why did the FPSC, responsible for the induction of civil servants, fail to factor in the harshness of weather before making their announcement? More importantly, how can “bad weather” be qualified as a genuine excuse in the first place? What is the FPSC not telling us? Do they require more resources or have something happened?

It is disheartening to note that the students who have been burning their midnight oil for the last two months have to suffer due to the irresponsible and unprofessional attitude of the FPSC. The postponement of the CSS exam has surely dented its credibility. rEhAN KhAN iSlAmAbAd

Quetta needs libraries DeSPITe being the capital city of Balochistan, Quetta suffers from a shortage of several basic facilities, which has caused many problems for the residents. At present, students are faced with serious difficulties due to the dearth of libraries in the city. Quaid-e-Azam Library is the only public library in Quetta which remains overcrowded throughout the day and fails to accommodate students properly. It is also deprived of basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets. There are a few private libraries, but most students cannot afford the fees of these libraries.

Therefore, they have little choice, and many prefer crowding at the Quaid-e-Azam Library than studying at home.

With the increasing population and a rise in the number of students entering higher education, the need for more public libraries has become paramount. Students from other districts of the province also travel to Quetta to avail of educational facilities because they cannot afford to go to other parts of the country. Libraries are essential for students to conduct their research and study in a peaceful environment.

The dearth of public libraries indicates that there is no regard for the students of Balochistan who are eager to educate themselves and improve their prospects. A lack of proper facilities has compelled many students to leave education altogether. It is my humble request to the relevant authorities to pay attention to the challenges facing the students and resolve them at the earliest. The PTI leaders have consistently emphasised the importance of education, it is now time for them to act on their promises. muhAmmAd zArif QuEttA

Mohatta Palace The Sindh high Court has ruled that the Mohatta Palace will be used to set up a medical and dental college for girls. The ruling came over a longterm dispute on the heritage property of Fatima Jinnah.

In 1927, Shivrattan Mohatta, a successful Marwari businessman, commissioned the Mohatta Palace to be constructed in the affluent neighbourhood of Clifton. The Palace was said to be a recreation of the Anglo-Mughal palaces of the Rajput princes. After the partition, the property was handed over to Fatima Jinnah. Upon her demise, the government of Sindh took over the building.

The decision to convert Mohatta Palace into a medical college has been met with reservations. This is because people believe that a country should try to preserve and protect their heritage and historical sites to honour their history. The demolition of such sites will disconnect the present from the past. Also, the reformation of the Palace will require funds for reparations and maintenance. Therefore, it should be left as it is so that it can serve as an embodiment the country’s culture, tradition, and history in the decades to come.

SAjjAd ChEEhANi AgrA

08 WORLD VIEW 22nd November 21_Layout 1 11/21/2021 9:15 PM Page 1

Monday, 22 November, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

IsrAelI spywAre: wHAT you reAd could mAke you A TArGeT clients, is leading the private war against privacy. This, combined with behavioural and political profiling based on our consumption habits, are edging us closer to a world where thought policing is not simply a sci-fi fantasy, but an impending reality. What’s more, we are doing very little to stop them.

Middle eAst eye

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marc oWen Jones

NOTHeR spyware scandal highlights Israel’s key role in attempts to silence or compromise anyone who opposes the Israeli occupation and the foreign policies of its autocratic middle east allies. middle east eye, which has provided a platform for critical views on the middle east, including the Israeli occupation of Palestine, was targeted, among other sites, by an alleged cyber-attack linked to a Tel aviv spyware firm already sanctioned in the united States. an online security firm identified a number of targets with “links to the middle east and a strong focus on Yemen and the surrounding conflict”, including several media sites linked to Hezbollah and the Houthis, and a website run

by Saudi dissidents.

The alleged attack, which according to a Toronto-based cybersecurity firm has “strong links” to Candiru, a highly secretive Israeli firm that only sells its spyware to governments, is a “watering hole” exploit, which means that it can potentially garner information about people who visit an infected website, in this case, middle east eye.

The purpose of such exploits is sinister, as it allows attackers to target victims based on their choice of news consumption, and implicitly their political leanings. It can also be used as a jumping-off point to narrow down further spyware attacks.

Candiru, like many western-based spyware companies, along with their authoritarian

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: This is also not Candiru’s first rodeo. earlier this year, microsoft revealed that Candiru had exploited its Windows operating system to create an exploit that targeted “politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics, embassy workers, and political dissidents” - half of whom lived in the Palestinian authority. Last July, it was reported that up to 50,000 people were alleged potential targets for Pegasus, spyware made by NSO Group, another Israeli company. as with Candiru, alleged targets included civil society actors such as journalists and human rights activists.

In 2019 Dark matter, a uae-based cybersecurity firm, was found to be using former NSa employees to spy on perceived enemies of the emirati state. One of Dark matter’s endeavours, Project Raven, used a tool called Karma to hack devices belonging to activists, including Yemeni Nobel prize-winner Tawwakol Karman, and even the emir of Qatar. The other known targets included hundreds more activists, journalists and their relatives. and given the secrecy with which such companies operate, this is likely to be the tip of a much larger iceberg.

TOTAL IMPUNITY: The functionality of Candiru represents a broadening of transnational repression. Not only are those journalists and activists who draw attention to human rights abuses being compromised, but now it appears anyone who might be interested in what those people have to say are also being targeted. From attacking targets engaged in criticism, to those reading that criticism, the implications are terrifying.

Just as social media companies create data profiles on people based on their consumption habits, interests, and even the coffee shops they visit in order to better target them with advertising, data can be used to create threat profiles to single out perceived dissidents. For example, is someone who reads middle east eye considered more of an ideological security risk to the

Israeli or Saudi state?

The possibilities for securitising the individual remain endless. From monitoring a target’s actions, to creating models about their likelihood for dissent, we move ever closer to securitising people’s political beliefs, especially those that resist imperialism, colonialism or authoritarianism. Despite the scandals, there appears to be little done to stop them. a lot of the actions taken to limit the proliferation of such technologies are toothless. although NSO Group (and some of its subsidiaries) and Candiru have been put on a blacklist in the uS, this is likely to do little to stop such attacks. Rather than penalising such companies, all this list does is make it more onerous for uS companies to export equipment to companies like NSO Group. Given that the uS is not the only producer of advanced technologies, and the fact numerous loopholes exist, sanctions are largely futile.

DIGITAL IMPERIALISM: It is also unrealistic to expect leadership from countries like the uS, uK and Israel, especially in the postwar-on-terror milieu. In such an environment the erosion of civil liberties has been routinised, with privacy subordinated to national security concerns. ever since edward Snowden revealed the extent of the uS mass-surveillance operation called Prism, which gave intelligence agencies access to private correspondence held on servers owned by Google and apple, it is clear that intrusive electronic surveillance is desired, rather than maligned by powerful actors.

What’s more, these countries generally sell to those regimes with which they share common security concerns. In other words, Israel, the uK or the uS benefit from these private surveillance contracts, as it delegates its security operation to like-minded states, who tend to see eye-to-eye on issues of mutual security threats. The private surveillance sector serves as a convenient foil for a growing and pervasive digital imperialism, which shows an increasing intolerance for even the most benign forms of political dissent.

Marc Owen Jones is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies and Digital Humanities, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU).

Tales of everyday tragedy Observer

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Holly Williams

uma Qureshi has the perfect title for her short story collection. Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love strikingly encapsulates a major theme of the book: the inability to communicate honestly with the most important people in your life.

Qureshi’s stories keenly identify the everyday tragedies of feeling profoundly unknown or unheard, of holding secrets and misunderstandings.

Formerly a writer for the Observer and the Guardian, Qureshi published a memoir, How We met, earlier this year about dating men her parents considered marriage material, before falling in love with a white British man. Her own story could slot neatly into this, her first fiction anthology.

Qureshi’s stories feature a cast of – mostly – youngish women of Pakistani heritage, often struggling with overbearing, judgmental and oppressive mothers, blindly insensitive male partners, or both. These tales vividly capture the experience of feeling constrained by family expectations, but also of not quite fitting the norms of British culture either.

The terrain can get repetitive; this dilemma is usually felt by women who’ve left behind immigrant communities for a white, middle-class London milieu; there are many writers and journalists. Pressure points recur, too: in several stressful holidays, tolerable relationships become intolerable. and occasionally, the responses to monstrous mothers tip into melodrama; although it won the Harper’s Bazaar 2020 short story prize, I didn’t quite buy the murderous intent in The Jam maker.

But usually, Qureshi takes the reader plausibly inside the inner recesses of characters’ hearts and minds.

Premonition beautifully recalls the intensity of a first crush, developed via “a private symphony of glances”, before a bewildering first kiss leads to disaster. and she captures how such

incidents can, in adulthood, seem insignificant and still life-defining.

One of the strongest stories – and surely the most heartbreaking – takes the perspective of one of Qureshi’s forceful mothers, Shaheen, who remains oblivious to how she smothers her daughter. The author renders her incomprehension painfully acute, while allowing the reader to see the big picture Shaheen misses.

There is, however, a tendency to spell out her characters’ feelings – needlessly, given we can easily read them between the otherwise well-crafted lines. She also occasionally overdoes the similes, but it would be hard to argue for much paring back when there are so many striking images to relish. a strung-out mother’s eyes feel “as thin as paper from sleeplessness, as though if she rubbed them too hard they might accidentally rip apart”. a hot summer is “as perfectly formed as a china tea set”. a grieving lover tastes their partner in “the glue of my raw morning mouth”.

It all bodes well for Qureshi’s forthcoming novel, about – what else? – “family, belonging and identity”.

Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love by Huma Qureshi is published by Sceptre (£16.99).

Green hydrogen: The new scramble for North Africa

Al JAzeerA

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Hamza HamoucHene

He potential of the Sahara desert in North africa to generate large amounts of renewable energy thanks to its dry climate and vast expanses of land has long been touted. For years, the europeans, in particular, have considered it a potential source of solar energy that could satisfy a sizable chunk of european energy demands.

In 2009, the Desertec project, an ambitious initiative to power europe from Saharan solar plants was launched by a coalition of european industrial firms and financial institutions with the idea that a tiny surface of the desert can provide 15 percent of europe’s electricity via special high voltage direct current transmission cables.

The Desertec venture eventually stalled amid criticisms of its astronomical costs and its neo-colonial connotations. after an attempt to revive it as Desertec 2.0 with a focus on the local market for renewable energy, the project was eventually reborn into Desertec 3.0, which aims to satisfy europe’s demand for hydrogen, a “clean” energy alternative to fossil fuels.

In early 2020, Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) launched the meNa Hydrogen alliance to help set up energy projects in the middle east and North africa region that produce hydrogen for export.

While in europe such projects may sound like a good idea – helping the continent fulfil its targets of greenhouse emission cuts – the view from North africa is radically different. There are growing concerns that instead of helping the region with its green transition, these schemes will result in the plunder of local resources, dispossession of communities, environmental damage and entrenchment of corrupt elites.

HYDROGEN: THE NEW ENERGY FRONTIER IN AFRICA: as the world seeks to switch to renewable energy amid a growing climate crisis, hydrogen has been presented as a “clean” alternative fuel. most current hydrogen production is the result of extraction from fossil fuels, leading to large carbon emissions (grey hydrogen). The cleanest form of hydrogen – “green” hydrogen – comes from electrolysis of water, a process that can be powered by electricity from renewable energy sources. In recent years, under heavy lobbying from various interest groups, the eu has embraced the idea of a hydrogen transition as a centrepiece of its climate response, introducing in 2020 its hydrogen strategy within the framework of the european Green Deal (eGD). The plan proposes shifting to “green” hydrogen by 2050, through local production and establishing a steady supply from africa.

It was inspired by ideas put forward by trade body and lobby group Hydrogen europe, which has set out the “2 x 40 GW green hydrogen initiative”. under this concept, by 2030 the eu would have in place 40 gigawatts of domestic renewable hydrogen electrolyser capacity and import a further 40 gigawatts from electrolysers in neighbouring areas, among them the deserts of North africa, using existing natural-gas pipelines that already connect algeria to europe.

Germany, where Desertec was launched, has been on the forefront of the eu’s hydrogen strategy. Its government has already approached the Democratic Republic of Congo, South africa and morocco to develop “decarbonised fuel” generated from renewable energy, for export to europe and is exploring

other potential areas/countries particularly suited to green hydrogen production. In 2020, the moroccan government entered into a partnership with Germany to develop the first green hydrogen plant on the continent.

Initiatives like Desertec have been quick to jump on the hydrogen bandwagon, which is likely to bring billions of euros of eu funding. Its manifesto reflects the general narrative used to promote the hydrogen and renewable energy projects. It tries to present them as beneficial for local communities. It claims it could bring “economic development, future-oriented jobs and social stability in North-african countries”.

But it also makes clear the extractive nature of this scheme: “for a fully renewable energy system in europe, we need North africa to produce cost-competitive solar and wind electricity, converted to hydrogen, for export by pipeline to europe”. and it makes sure to indicate its commitment to “Fortress europe”, by claiming that the projects could “[reduce] the number of economic migrants from the region to europe”.

In other words, the vision behind Desertec and many of these european “green” projects in North africa seeks to preserve the current exploitative, neo-colonial relations europe has with the region.

A NEO-COLONIAL ‘GREEN TRANSITION’: During the colonial era, european powers set up a vast economic system to extract wealth, raw materials and (slave) labour from the african continent. although the 20th century brought independence to african colonies, this system was never dismantled; it was only transformed, often with the help of local post-colonial authoritarian leaders and elites.

Now the fear is that the eu’s green transition will continue to feed this exploitative economic system to the benefit of european big business and to the detriment of local communities in african countries they partner with. The push for new hydrogen supply chains proposed in projects like Desertec does little to alleviate these concerns.

This is because one of the biggest lobbies

behind the eu’s turn to hydrogen represents fossil fuel companies, whose origins are tightly linked to the colonial exploits of european powers. Two of DII’s partners, for example, are the French energy giant Total and the Dutch oil major Shell. In africa and elsewhere, fossil fuel companies continue to use the same exploitative economic structures set up during colonialism to extract local resources and transfer wealth out of the continent. They are also keen on preserving the political status quo in african countries so they can continue to benefit from lucrative relations with corrupt elites and authoritarian leaders. This basically allows them to engage in labour exploitation, environmental degradation, violence against local communities, etc with impunity.

In this sense, it is not surprising that the fossil fuel industry and its lobbies are pushing for embracing hydrogen as the “clean” fuel of the future in order to stay relevant and in business. The industry wants to preserve the existing natural gas infrastructure and pipelines, along with the exploitative economic relations behind them.

Given the industry’s long track record of environmental damage and abuse, it is also not surprising that the hydrogen drive hides major pollution risks. Desertec’s manifesto, for example, points out that “in an initial phase (between 2030-2035), a substantial hydrogen volume can be produced by converting natural gas to hydrogen, whereby the CO2 is stored in empty gas/oil fields”. This alongside the use of scarce water resources to produce hydrogen are yet another example of dumping waste in the global South and displacing environmental costs from the North to the South.

The economic benefits for the local population are also under question. a huge upfront investment would be needed in order to establish the infrastructure required to produce and transport green hydrogen to europe. Given previous experiences carrying out such high-cost and capital-intensive projects, the investment ends up creating more debt for the receiving country, deepening the dependence upon multilateral lending and Western financial assistance.

North african energy projects established with european support in the past decade already show how energy colonialism is reproduced even in transitions to renewable energy in the form of green colonialism or green grabbing.

In Tunisia, a solar energy project called TuNur, endorsed by Desertec, has been scrutinised for its export-oriented plans. Given the country’s massive energy deficiency and dependence on imports of algerian natural gas for power generation, exporting electricity while the local population suffers from repeated blackouts makes little sense.

In morocco, the untransparent land acquisition process and water exploitation plans of the Ouarzazate Solar Plant – also supported by DII members – have raised questions about possible harms local communities may suffer. The high cost of the project – paid for with loans from international financial institutions – has also raised concern about its debt burden on the national budget. amid the growing climate crisis, North african countries cannot afford to continue engaging in such exploitative projects. They cannot continue being exporters of cheap natural resources to europe and the site of displaced socio-environmental costs of its green transition.

They need a just transition that involves a shift to an economy that is ecologically sustainable, equitable and just for all. In this context, existing neo-colonial relations and practices must be challenged and halted. as for european countries and corporations, they need to break away from the imperial and racialised logic of externalising costs.

Otherwise, they would continue to feed green colonialism and further pursuit of extractivism and exploitation of nature and labour for a supposedly green agenda, which would undermine collective efforts for an effective and just global response to climate change.

Hamza Hamouchene is a London-based Algerian researcher and activist. He is currently the North Africa Programme Coordinator at the Transnational Institute (TNI).

Monday, 22 November, 2021 | LAHORE

NEWS corporate corner TEVTA joins hands with Google & Tech Valley to equip largest skill provider with Google Technologies

Tech Valley - Google’s Local Country Partner in Pakistan is joining hands with Pakistan’s Biggest Pakistan's largest Skills Training Provider - TEVTA Punjab in order to launch different capacity-building initiatives using Google technologies. In this regard, an MOU was signed between Chairman TEVTA Punjab, Mr. Ali Salman in Lahore, and CEO Tech Valley Pakistan Umar Farooq in a virtual setting from Islamabad, setting a precedent on how technology can be used to collaborate across the country. Under this MOU, TV, and TEVTA will work together to deploy Google Workspace tools for the members, staff, teachers, and students of the affiliated institutions and conduct different training programs for the students and teachers. pr

BOP hosts investment conference at Dubai Expo 2020

LAHORE: The Bank of Punjab (BOP) hosted an Investment Conference at Ritz Carlton Hotel, DIFC, Dubai, on Saturday, November, 20 wherein esteemed guest speakers spoke on topics of interest covering the investment climate and opportunities that Punjab has to offer to investors.

Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht, inaugurated and attended the conference along with Hassan Afzal Khan, Counsel General of Pakistan, UAE, Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfaraz, Minister of Higher Education and Information Technology, Punjab and other high-ranking officials of the Government of Punjab (‘GoPb’). Several prominent Pakistani corporate leaders and experts from leading international financial institutions were also present at the event. The investment conference provided an excellent interactive platform for speakers and participants on potential investment opportunities in Punjab along with policy making suggestions. The event had various sessions during the day which covered key topics of interest by speakers and panelists. pr

Omer Khan assumes charge of SSP (Traffic)

ECC DIrECTS hEAlTh mInISTry TO rESuBmIT CASE On hEAlTh lEVy On TOBACCO, SuGAr SwEETEnErS ISLAMABAD

T

shahzad paracha

HE Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has directed the ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination to resubmit a case with regard to the imposition of health levy on tobacco and sugar sweetened Beverages before the next budget.

Sources said that ECC meeting held during last week of October considered the summary regarding “Allocation of Health contribution from revenue generated on account of Health Hazard Tax on Tobacco and Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBS) and directed the Ministry to resubmit the case at the time of next budget for consideration/approval.

It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Health had proposed the ECC to impose a health tax Rs10 pack of 20 cigarettes and Rs1 per 250ml of sugar

sweetened beverages.

It had also asked to introduce a federal health contribution bill, 2021, to consolidate the law relating to the imposition, collection of the tax on the sale and consumption of certain goods which are harmful to society and individuals. However, the proposal was deferred on the recommendation of the subcommittee of ECC. Sources said that FBR had pressed for the imposition of the tax, informing that additional revenue on account of increase in FED on cigarettes and carbonated, sugar-sweetened beverages during the financial year 2019-20 (FY20) totaled Rs33 billion while the law division advised that the tax can be introduced as an ordinary bill or be promulgated through an ordinance before tabling the bill in the parliament.

It is worth mentioning here that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including heart diseases, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases are

collectively responsible for almost 68 per cent of deaths in Pakistan. Similarly, NCDs cause 51pc of total diseases mostly in the youth of the country.

Furthermore, Pakistan is obligated to achieve the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under which it has to reduce one-third of premature mortality due to NCDs by 2030.

Raising taxes on tobacco and other harmful products have long been a dependable and significant revenue source in many countries. More recently, considerable attention has been paid to the way in which such taxes may also be used to attain public health objectives by reducing the consumption of products with adverse health and social impacts.

Moreover, explicitly earmarking excise taxes on tobacco and other such products to finance public health expenditures will make increasing such taxes politically acceptable and provide the funding needed to increase expenditures, especially for the poor.

Pakistan, India transboundary dialogue imperative to address smog: Amin Aslam ISLAMABAD staff report

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Sunday said a transboundary dialogue on mitigating air pollution was imperative to resolve Lahore’s smog mostly generating due to Indian farmers crop residue burning.

During the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) held in Glasgow, the SAPM said he had proposed the South Asian Ministers’ panel meeting that Pakistan could convene a regional conference on addressing the issue of transboundary air pollution under the Mali Agreement as the country was signatory to it.

Amin said the recent NASA report has indicated 80 percent crop burning hotspots in the Indian Punjab particularly in the state of Haryana that was shifting the effluence to Lahore causing smog.

He added that a $280 million World Bank funded project to be implemented in Punjab for advanced air quality monitors was also facing a halt despite receiving complete funding. “It is a very important project that will help generate realtime certified data which will be a calibrated one as data scarcity is also a hurdle in timely decision making,” he said.

Pakistan, he said in its capacity has introduced Euro-V quality fuel, Electric Vehicles Policy, over a million Brick Kilns conversion over zigzag technology and dry scrubbers were introduced in the steel furnaces to reduce dark carbon

emissions into the atmosphere to curb smog.

Despite all these measures, air pollution was entering Pakistan by Indian amid transboundary pollution that was becoming a major crisis for the region particularly Pakistan that needed to be addressed, the SAPM noted.

To a question, he pointed out that Happy Seeder Technology an advanced solution to curb crop residue burning was also introduced last year in Punjab and 500 machines were distributed among the farmers and was to be scaled up in the next phase. However, again the project was also facing hiccups in the Punjab government, he added.

He underlined that during the last week, a dust storm emerged in the Thal Desert has also hit the Lahore region and created pollution.

Amin concluded, “We need to talk to India to contain its contamination of the ambience and help protect the environment. I have also raised this issue of bilateral engagement on air pollution at the COP-26 platform.”

It merits mention that a research back in 2019 jointly undertaken by 29 Indian and international researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the University of Minnesota, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and other organizations has revealed that every year, some 23 million tonnes of rice residue was burnt in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh, contributing significantly to air pollution and short-lived climate pollutants.

460,000 fertilizer bags seized, 113 held across Punjab for hoarding LAHORE staff report

ISLAMABAD: An officer of police services of Pakistan, Muhammad Omer Khan, has assumed the charge of SSP (Traffic) Islamabad. He was welcomed by ASP (Traffic) Ayesha Gul and Director ITP FM Radio 92.4 on his arrival at office. The newly appointed SSP (Traffic) has earlier served as SP City and Rural Zones and SSP (Headquarters). He met with with the In-charges of all branches after assuming the charge and issued directions. On the eve of charge assumption, he briefed the ITP personnel and said that they (ITP Personnel) should be polite but firm on their stance while enforcement. He directed the staffers that all out efforts would be carried out for providing disciplined traffic system to the road users and to implement equal application of law and to control the traffic violation. The SSP (Traffic) said that better services should be provided to the citizens with concentration on helping the road users apart from enforcement. He appealed the citizens to avoid from traffic violation and help ITP in bring better traffic culture in the city because traffic discipline reflects the civilization of a nation. pr

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The Punjab government has intensified the crackdown on hoarders, recovering 460,000 bags of fertilizers, arresting 113 persons, and registering 190 cases against them during the last week.

The divisional commissioners shared details of the crackdown during a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal, at the Civil Secretariat. The meeting reviewed the prices and availability of essential commodities.

The meeting was informed that in the Faisalabad division 140,034 bags of fertilizer were confiscated, six persons were arrested and 20 cases were registered. In the Bahawalpur division, 63,819 bags of fertilizer were recovered, 19 persons were arrested and 30 cases were registered.

In the Multan division, 34,624 bags of fertilizer were seized, 46 persons were arrested and 41 cases were reg-

istered. In the Sahiwal division, 67,581 bags of fertilizer were recovered, two persons were arrested and 37 cases were registered.

The meeting was briefed that in the Gujranwala division, 61,869 bags of fertilizer were recovered, 17 persons were arrested and 25 cases were registered.

In the DG Khan division, 35,658 bags of fertilizer were recovered, two persons were arrested and 17 cases were registered.

In the Lahore division, 38000 bags of fertilizer were seized, 10 persons were arrested and 11 cases were registered. In the Sargodha division, 18,400 bags of fertilizer were recovered, nine persons were arrested and 16 cases were registered while in the Rawalpindi division three persons were arrested and one case was registered.

Asking officers to continue the crackdown against hoarders, the Chief Secretary said that the government would safeguard the interest

of the farmers at all costs. He asked the officers to keep a close watch on the stocks, demand, and supply of fertilizers as well as their prices. He directed that the fertilizers recovered from the stockists should be sold in the market at the fixed price.

The Chief Secretary said that due to effective measures the prices of food items have stabilized, adding that the administrative officers should continue work with the same diligence and spirit. The Chief Secretary also sought a report on the higher price of gram pulses in Rawalpindi and Gujarat as compared to other cities.

The divisional commissioners briefed the Chief Secretary on the fertilizer stocks and price control measures.

The Secretary Food, commissioner, deputy commissioner Lahore, and officers concerned attended the meeting while all the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through

EX-SSP found involved in land grabbing, serious crime using police van KARACHI: A former police officer on Sunday was allegedly found involved in different cases of land grabbing and other serious crimes by using a police van in Karachi.

Three cases have been registered against Zakir Piprani, a former senior superintendent police (SSP), at Surjani and Samanabad police stations. Two cases were lodged at Surjani police station and one at Samanabad police station.

After the registration of the latest cases, three more cases have surfaced against the former SSP Zakir Piprani that had been lodged at Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Brigade police stations. Police officials said that the accused Zakir Piprani and his accomplice named Aziz were arrested. The accused had snatched a citizen’s vehicle by using a police van with number plate SPB-807. In another case, the complainant stated that the police van had been used for grabbing a plot of a citizen. The former police officer is facing accusations of using senior officers’ names for threatening the citizen. Police added that the department is investigating the registration of the police van. Earlier in December last year, two street criminals allegedly associated with a ‘most-wanted dacoit gang’ had been arrested in a joint raid conducted by Rangers and police forces in Karachi. The alleged criminals belong to a ‘mostwanted dacoit gang’ and are involved in various cases of robbery and street crime. The arrests were made with the help of CCTV footages of different incidents. According to the spokesperson, former policeman Waqar Ahmed and Shahrukh along with his accomplice were seen looting citizens in separate footages. Shahrukh had snatched valuables from a citizen sitting inside a car at Model Park Road of Karachi’s Mehmoodabad. Another accused Waqar Ahmed is a drug addict and former policeman who was seen holding a pistol while robbing a citizen. inp

Online katcharies are the best way for direct contact with customer. IESCO spokesman ISLAMABAD: To ensure rectification of customers complaints just on a single telephone call IESCO is holding online Katcharies on a regular grounds.

Complaints/suggestion and their remedies for solution of complaints are directly monitoring by Chief Executive Officer IESCO Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan. By following same practice on 22nd November 2021, SE IESCO Islamabad Circle on telephone No. 051-9260194, SE Rawalpindi City Circle on telephone No. 051-9292675, SE Rawalpindi Cantt Circle on telephone No. 051-9293048, SE Attock Circle on telephone No. 051-4950343, SE Chakwal circle on telephone No. 0543-668500 and SE Jhelum Circle on telephone No. 0544-9270377 will attend complaints/suggestions of customers from 09:30 AM to 11:30 AM. IESCO requests valuable customers to participate in said online Katcharies for immediate solution of their complaints. pr

Monday, 22 November, 2021 | LAHORE

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Sudan military to reinState ouSted Pm after deal reached: umma Party head KHARTOUM

S hours

Guns, stress and politics: uS road rage shootings on the rise

ReuteRS

UDAN’S military plans to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok following an agreement reached in the late of Saturday, Fadlallah

Burma Nasir, the head of the Umma Party, told Reuters.

Hamdok will form an independent cabinet of technocrats and all political detainees will be released under the agreement between the military and civilian political parties, Nasir said on Sunday.

Nasir said he took part in a meeting late on Saturday in which mediators reached a deal.

The Sovereign Council will hold an urgent meeting on Sunday before announcing the agreement, said a source with knowledge of the talks.

The agreement comes more

Taliban say humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan predates group’s rise to power AgencIeS

WASHIngTOn afp

After a speeding driver cut her off abruptly on a Californian highway in May, Joanna Cloonan gestured rudely towards the car. A passenger grabbed a pistol and fired at her vehicle, killing her six-year-old son in the back seat. A woman in Texas was shot in the back last week while shielding her seven-year-old daughter from gunfire toward their vehicle, and another driver in Kentucky is recovering from gunshot wounds sustained after an argument involving a parking space.

Road rage incidents involving a gun have been responsible for record levels of injury and death in the United States since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence. Data shows that traffic skirmishes involving firearms have been on the rise since 2018, and the report said that “if current trends continue, 2021 is on track to be the deadliest year on record.” The pandemic, which introduced many new sources of stress to people’s lives, has also seen record increases in gun sales and shootings, Everytown said.

‘EntitlEmEnt’ and ‘narcissism’: Ryan Martin, an anger researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, told AFP that “just the existence of a life-threatening illness puts people on edge, when the frustrations that they encounter would have been kind of mild two years ago.” In a country where the right to bear arms is fiercely guarded, the omnipresence of guns magnifies the problem, according to Martin, a psychology professor. Firearms are “a driving factor in multiple ways because it gives you a lethal mechanism to act out that anger,” he said. “Data also shows that having a gun in the car with you makes you more likely to become angry. It’s called the weapons effect.” Individualistic American attitudes may also be partly to blame. “The individualism that we see in the US probably exacerbates a lot of anger response. There is a sense of entitlement that comes with the way in which Americans tend to think about freedom,” Martin said. Martin and emotional management specialist Pauline Wallin both suggest that deep political divides also contribute to the violence. Wallin, a psychologist based in Pennsylvania, said that because Americans are increasingly polarized, a person cutting you off in traffic is more likely seen as the “enemy” rather than an “inconvenience.”

“We’re more apt to blame other people for what happened,” she said. “It’s somebody else’s fault… it’s all about narcissism.” Even pandemic safety measures like masks became framed as a political debate under former president Donald Trump, and divisive messaging did not disappear with his administration, Wallin said. “Poor management of frustration” is at fault for most road rage incidents, according to the psychologist. “You have to take some deep breaths. You have to calm yourself down because you can’t think logically when you’re very upset,” she said. “Ask yourself, will this matter tomorrow? In a week?” Martin said drivers have to realize that engaging in an aggressive, hostile way is “never going to be a positive outcome.” “Let it go,” he advised.

The Taliban’s interim government in Afghanistan on Saturday urged the US to play its part in addressing the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the warravaged country.

In a statement by the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry, Washington was reminded that the humanitarian issue predates the group’s rise to power.

That was in response to the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, who said in a series of tweets that Washington made clear to the Taliban for years that if they pursued a military takeover rather than a negotiated settlement with fellow Afghans, then critical non-humanitarian aid provided by the international community — in an economy enormously dependent on aid, including basic services — would all but cease. And that is what occurred.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the comments by West that Afghanistan faced a humanitarian crisis prior to August is a faithful admission.

Comments in response to US envoy’s assertions about cut in aid following military takeover by Taliban “It is correct that economic problems have been inherited by the new government. Thus everyone should fulfill their own responsibilities to address the issue,” said Balkhi.

The US envoy said Washington will continue clear-eyed, candid diplomacy with the Taliban.

“Legitimacy & support must be earned by actions to address terrorism, establish an inclusive government, & respect the rights of minorities, women & girls – including equal access to education & employment,” he tweeted.

West noted that the US will continue to support the Afghan people with humanitarian aid.

“We’ve provided $474 million this year, applaud the robust efforts of Allies & partners in this space, & are making every effort to help the UN & humanitarian actors scale up to meet needs this winter,” he wrote.

The interim government wrote an open letter to members of the US Con-

gress on Wednesday, urging them to take “responsible steps towards addressing the humanitarian and economic crisis unfolding.”

The letter, signed by Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, said such steps will open doors for future relations, unfreeze assets of Afghanistan’s Central Bank and lift sanctions.

More than $9 billion in Afghan foreign assets have been frozen by the US

BeIJIng Pakistan and China joined hands in feed research which would highly benefit Pakistan’s livestock sector to grow at a fast pace.

“In Pakistan, at least sixty percent of feed additives are imported from China.

Through my research and learning in China, I hope to enhance Pakistan’s self-reliance in this regard”.

This was stated by Waseem Abbas, a product manager at the Animal Nutrition Feed Additives Section of Jawad Impex International Lahore, and Ph.D. scholar at the College of Animal Science and Technology,

after the Taliban regained power in August following the complete withdrawal of foreign forces.

“As the cold winter months are fast approaching in Afghanistan, and in a state where our country has been hammered by the coronavirus, drought, war, and poverty, American sanctions have not only played havoc with trade and business but also with humanitarian assistance,” according to the letter.

Pakistan, India transboundary dialogue imperative to address smog: Amin Aslam

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Sunday said a transboundary dialogue on mitigating air pollution was imperative to resolve Lahore’s smog mostly generating due to Indian farmers crop residue burning.

During the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) held in Glasgow, the SAPM said he had proposed the South

Asian Ministers’ panel meeting that Pakistan could convene a regional conference on addressing the issue of transboundary air pollution under the Mali Agreement as the country was signatory to it.

Amin said the recent NASA report has indicated 80 percent crop burning hotspots in the Indian Punjab particularly in the state of Haryana that was shifting the effluence to Lahore causing smog.

He added that a $280 million World Bank funded project to be implemented

in Punjab for advanced air quality monitors was also facing a halt despite receiving complete funding. “It is a very important project that will help generate realtime certified data which will be a calibrated one as data scarcity is also a hurdle in timely decision making,” he said.

Pakistan, he said in its capacity has introduced Euro-V quality fuel, Electric Vehicles Policy, over a million Brick Kilns conversion over zigzag technology and dry scrubbers were introduced in the steel furnaces to reduce dark carbon emissions into the atmosphere to curb smog.

Despite all these measures, air pollution was entering Pakistan by Indian amid transboundary pollution that was becoming a major crisis for the region particularly Pakistan that needed to be addressed, the SAPM noted.

To a question, he pointed out that Happy Seeder Technology an advanced solution to curb crop residue burning was also introduced last year in Punjab and 500 machines were distributed among the farmers and was to be scaled up in the next phase. However, again the

Pakistan, China to cooperate for livestock feed research Staff RepoRt

than three weeks since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan derailed Sudan’s transition towards civilian rule with a military coup.

The takeover ended a transitional partnership between the military and civilian groups that had helped topple autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

China Agricultural University (CAU), Beijing, China.

He has just ended a 14-day seminar on feed formula organized by Hunan Agricultural Group, during which he and other 20odd Pakistani participants including farmers, students, and scientists learned through an array of courses such as the nutrition requirements on animals, feed formula design, the application and development of fodder in livestock and breeding industry, fodder processing techniques and fodder additives.

“Additives, meal and grains are indispensable parts in feed. On the contrary, they are essential for the balance and sufficiency of nutrition in feed, thus improving its effi-

ciency and quality, something in dire need in Pakistan”, said Waseem.

According to a research by University of Illinois, feed costs represent the largest input cost to produce milk (estimated to be 35 to 50 percent).

In Pakistan, livestock production contributes to over 60% of the total agricultural output value. Commercial farmers and corporate about ten to fifteen percent are to overall dairy producers, they need feed additives to lower their cost while maximizing production. Around 85 percent of households farmers and they are feeding conventional feeds which are limited to fulfill the nutritional requirement of animals, now

farmers are moving to words modern/balanced feed which included feed additives to increase feed efficacy. In poultry, similarly, feed additives fulfill adequate nutritional profile for the birds.

Following the international practices, additives are commonly used in feed, with Vitamin premix, Mineral premix, amino acids, enzymes, toxin binders’ antioxidants, choline chloride, etc. as the most commonly used feed additive.

But high prices and low efficient quality of feed in Pakistan is constraining the related sectors (meat, milk and egg production) from fully unleashing their potential. “For example, soybean is a major protein source

project was also facing hiccups in the Punjab government, he added.

He underlined that during the last week, a dust storm emerged in the Thal Desert has also hit the Lahore region and created pollution.

Amin concluded, “We need to talk to India to contain its contamination of the ambience and help protect the environment. I have also raised this issue of bilateral engagement on air pollution at the COP-26 platform.”

It merits mention that a research back in 2019 jointly undertaken by 29 Indian and international researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the University of Minnesota, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and other organizations has revealed that every year, some 23 million tonnes of rice residue was burnt in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh, contributing significantly to air pollution and short-lived climate pollutants.

of feed for poultry/dairy.

But due to the high prices in Pakistani market complicated by the pandemic-caused cross-border transaction impediment, people have to turn to less-nutritious ingredients i.e. vegetables and animal proteins sources”, said Waseem.

“During my study in China, I have visited many large feed producers and found that China is using advanced, innovative techniques and machinery, like pelleting machine, grinders, etc.”, Waseem observed.

Waseem have co-authored two papers in SCI indexed journals, namely, dietary yeast, glucan supplementation improves eggshell color and fertile eggs hatchability as well as enhances immunity functions in breeder laying hens, and dietary encapsulated essential oils and organic acids mixture improves gut health in broiler chicken challenged with necrotic enteritis.

Monday, 22 November, 2021 | LAHORE

CHIneSe TennIS STar Peng SHuaI reaPPearS aT PuBLIC evenT In BeIjIng

C

AFP

HINESE tennis star Peng Shuai appeared at a Beijing tennis tournament on Sunday, according to official event photos, after international pressure mounted for information about her well-being.

Peng can be seen in a navy sports jacket and white track pants at the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals, according to photos published on the official Weibo account of the China Open — her first public appearance since her sexual abuse accusations were widely censored on the Chinese internet.

The two-time Grand Slam doubles champion had not been seen publicly since alleging earlier this month that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli, now in his 70s, “forced” her into sex during an on-off relationship spanning several years.

Following a global outcry, including from tennis superstars and the United Nations, Chinese state media reporters have released a flurry of footage purporting to show all is well with Peng.

A video from the event, tweeted by Global Times newspaper editor Hu Xijin, shows Peng standing in a stadium among a group of guests whose names are announced to a smattering of applause.

A Global Times reporter tweeted another video showing Peng signing autographs for children at what appears to be the same stadium before posing for photos with them. Hu also posted two other videos on Saturday, the first showing Peng walking into a restaurant wearing a coat, knit cap and face mask.

A visible sign says Beijing Yibin Guesthouse, a famous restaurant a stone’s throw from Tiananmen Square, owned by the Sichuan local government.

In the second, Peng is maskless sitting at a table chat-

ting with people over a meal.

Hu tweeted in English that the second video shows “Peng Shuai was having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant. The video content clearly shows they are shot on Saturday Beijing time.”

The conversation revolved around “tennis matches”.

A man sitting with Peng and two women said “tomorrow is November 20”.

But one of the women quickly corrects him, saying, “It is the 21st”, implying that the video was filmed on Saturday. The chat appears to be staged. It was filmed in the evening hours with a mobile phone. Peng appears relaxed in the footage. Peng’s claims against Zhang were the first time China’s #MeToo movement has touched the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party.

They were quickly scrubbed from the Twitter-like Weibo platform, and concerns have grown for her safety since. Of the restaurant videos, Women’s Tennis Asso-

SPORTS 11

ciation (WTA) boss Steve Simon said he was glad to see the images but “it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference”. “This video alone is insufficient,” Simon said in a statement. “I have been clear about what needs to happen and our relationship with China is at a crossroads.”

Solskjaer sacked for failing to rekindle Man Utd’s golden years LONDON Agencies

Bangladesh adds Parvez Hossain, Kamrul Islam in team for last T20 News Desk The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has called in pace bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi and batter Parvez Hossain Emon for the third and final match of the Alesha Holdings T20 international series against Pakistan on November 22. With stellar performances from Pakistani bowlers, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shadab Khan, who did not allow the Bangladeshi batters any leeway, especially in the first two overs, the Men in Green have won the first two matches.

Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to a below-par 127 as they could hit merely three boundaries and seven sixes in both matches. The slower run rate also incurred a penalty for the hosts from the International Cricket Council (ICC). This will be the maiden match for the two players.

Bangladesh is down 2-0 in the series. In front of a roaring home crowd, Bangladesh did not allow Pakistan a walkover as Mustafizur Rahman worked wonders early on by castling Rizwan.

Babar Azam, Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik also succumbed to the magic of the Bangladeshi pace. Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah took up the responsibility to do the needful by hitting 34 runs apiece. Shadab and Nawaz later accomplished the task. However, the pacing attack of the hosts gave the home crowd some joy as they squeezed Pakistan to 24 for 4 in the powerplay.

Windies’ Solazano taken to hospital as Sri Lanka 61-0 at lunch GALLe AFP

Sri Lanka made steady progress to reach lunch 61 without loss in the opening Test Sunday against the West Indies, who had debutant Jeremy Solozano taken to hospital after being hit on the helmet while fielding. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was unbeaten on 32 with three boundaries while Pathum Nissanka was on 25.

Solozano was fielding close in at short-leg when Karunaratne attempted a full blooded pull shot off the bowling of Chase and the ball smacked a fierce blow into the fielder’s helmet grill. Medical staff attended to him on the ground before he was taken on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance which took him to the hospital. West Indies used six bowlers in the opening session but none were able to find a breakthrough. Rahkeem Cornwall did find the outside edge of Karunaratne’s bat but Jermaine Blackwood at slip was unable to hold on as he attempted a one-handed grab. And West Indies unsuccessfully reviewed after Karunaratne took an uncharacteristic reverse sweep off the left-arm orthodox spin of Jomel Warrican and the ball struck his front pad. Television replays showed the impact was outside off-stump. The tourists lost their second review for a caught behind of Nissanka off the bowling of Roston Chase. West Indies, who lost the toss, surprised fans by leaving out Kemar Roach, their most experienced player and the eighth-highest Test wicket-taker.

As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer trudged forlornly towards Manchester United’s fans at Vicarage Road, the merciless booing that greeted the ashen-faced Norwegian served as a bitter coda to his failed reign.

United had just suffered a 4-1 thrashing against lowly Watford, the latest in a long list of calamitous defeats during Solskjaer’s three years in charge.

The axe was about to fall on the United manager and the club’s supporters had finally turned on a man they regarded as a legend for his heroics during his Old Trafford playing days Solskjaer was sacked on Sunday with seventh-placed United languishing 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and six adrift of the top four.

It was a dismissal that felt years in the making after Solskjaer repeatedly dodged the bullet during previous troubled periods. Coming hot on the heels of a humiliating 5-0 home defeat against arch-rivals Liverpool and a 2-0 loss to Manchester City, United’s fifth defeat in seven league games was the final straw.

There was an alarming lack of cohesion, direction and fight in a star-studded team that flopped despite the closeseason signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

Those deals, especially re-signing Ronaldo from Ju-

ventus, were expected to prove the catalyst for United to push hard for their first English title since 2013.

Instead, they appeared increasingly rudderless as Solskjaer struggled to gel his new recruits into a team packed with attacking talent but painfully short of midfield steel and prone to embarrassing blunders at the back.

When Liverpool ran riot at Old Trafford on October 24, the malaise at the heart of United’s brittle squad was brutally exposed.

Solskjaer’s decision to opt for a high-pressing gameplan was picked apart by Liverpool, with United’s players reportedly complaining that the manager did not give them

Shaheen Afridi guilty of breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct, fined 15pc of his match fee News Desk Shaheen Afridi has been fined 15% of his match fees for breaching Level 1 of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct during the second T20I against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.

A statement issued by the ICC said that the charges against Afridi were levelled by on-field umpires Gazi Sohel and Sohail Tanveer, third umpire Masudur Rahman, and fourth official Sharfudoulla Ibne Shahid.

According to the statement, Afridi was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, pertaining to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during

an International Match.”

The incident occurred in the third over of Bangladesh’s innings, when the Pakistan pacer knocked down Bangladesh’s left-handed batter Atif Hosain as he “fielded the ball on his follow through and threw it at Hossain, hitting him on the foot, when the batter was within the popping crease and not intending to take a run”. It further stated that Afridi admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid.

Apart from the penalty, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of the player, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period, the statement read. According to the ICC Code of Conduct, “Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand” and a maximum penalty of 50% of the player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

enough preparation time.

That hint of dissent came just weeks after Ronaldo stormed off the Old Trafford pitch in disgust after Solskjaer only brought him on in the second half of a draw with Everton. Even Alex Ferguson, the great United manager who brought Solskjaer to the club in 1996, added to the mounting pressure when he reacted to the Ronaldo incident by saying you should “always start with your best players”. In truth, Solskjaer often looked out of his depth at Old Trafford. The 48-year-old’s previous experience in management had come with Norway’s Molde — where he was working when United called to hire him in late 2018 — and a brief stint with Cardiff that featured Premier League relegation and concluded with the sack after less than a year. Even Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal, both boasting far more in terms of success and service time than Solskjaer, had been unable to solve the problems that have bedevilled United since Ferguson retired in 2013.

After replacing Mourinho on an interim basis, Solskjaer earned a permanent contract by winning 14 of his first 19 matches. Supposedly reconnecting United to their soul with his commitment to an attacking style that contrasted with the pragmatic Mourinho, Solskjaer was feted by fans who chanted “Ole’s at the wheel”.

As a player, Solskjaer won six Premier League titles in 11 years with United, shining as a selfless super-sub with an eye for goal.

Baloch Club Quetta, Quetta Zorawar Club make it to Semi Finals of ufone 4g Football Cup Balochistan edition QUeTTA APP

Baloch Club Quetta and Quetta Zorawar Club have emerged as two of the four Semi-finalists of the Balochistan edition of the Ufone 4G Balochistan Football Cup here in Quetta. Baloch Club Quetta faced DFA Khuzdar in the first Super 8 match of the tournament at Ayub Stadium Quetta. Baloch Club’s aggressive demeanor became evident when its player Kamran scored a goal only in the 10th minute of the match. Baloch Club then took just 11 minutes to solidify its hold on the match when Zahid scored the second goal for its team in the 21st minute of the match. The team dominated DFA Khuzdar all along when Kamran returned for another sensational goal in the 40th minute of the match to put his team in a commanding position. DFA Khuzdar’s attempts to make a comeback seemed to materialize when its player Jalil scored in the 44th minute of the match but the team couldn’t go all the way and lost the match to Baloch Club by 3-1. In the second match, DFA Panjgur took on Quetta Zorawar Club at the same venue.

The two teams in impeccable form and spirit presented exemplary game and entertained the crowd.

Both teams launched ferocious attacks as well as valiantly defended their respective goalposts. Quetta Zorawar Club’s Ali Raza successfully sent the ball whizzing through the opposition’s net to send the packed stadium into a frenzy. DFA Panjgur having been reduced to the challenger position attempted to revert strongly but fell short to lose match 1 against naught. The next two Super 8 matches will be played today (Monday 22nd Nov) at Ayub Stadium between Muslim Club Chaman and DFA Turbat at 1PM and DFA Quetta United and DFA Zhob at 3PM respectively. All the winners of the Super 8 matches will meet for Semi-Finals at the same venue on 24th November at 3PM and 5PM. The Final will also be played here at Ayub Stadium on 25th November at 5PM. Semi-Finals and the Final will be broadcasted live from PTV Sports.

Monday, 22 november, 2021

prayer tiMings

news

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:10

11:48

2:42

6:33

5:02

6:27

AttorNey GeNerAl hiNts At more electorAl reForms iN PiPeliNe

A

TTORNEY-General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan hinted at introducing more electoral reforms, days after the PTI-led government bulldozed legislation for use of EVMs and voting rights to overseas in a joint session of Parliament.

The AGP stated that the government had prepared 75 amendments for the Elections Act, 2017, but that some of the amendments had been removed from the bill, which was passed by Parliament, after he and some other ministers expressed reservations on them.

The AG stated that PM Imran

Khan had decided to hold back these certain amendments, adding that the amendments would be tabled in Parliament after the concerns over them were addressed.

While responding to a question, the attorney-general said that Parliament has not yet decided in which general elections EVMs will be used and i-voting will be introduced.

The AG added that the government will defend the use of EVMs and i-voting if they are challenged in court.

Earlier, the government had passed 33 bills in a joint sitting of Parliament, with the Opposition rejecting the legisla-

tion, saying that the treasury benches had bulldozed the bills.

Among the bills passed, the most crucial were amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, allowing the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote in general elections.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan had presented the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 to bring about the required amendments.

The motion to consider the bill had been passed with a majority vote as a total of 221 lawmakers voted in favour of

the motion while 203 lawmakers opposed it.

Parliament had rejected the amendments moved by Opposition lawmakers including MNA Mohsin Dawar, Senator Taj Haider and Mushtaq Ahmed.

After the passage of the Elections Second Amendment Bill, 2021, the Election Commission of Pakistan shall, with the technical assistance of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and any other authority or agency, enable overseas Pakistanis in the prescribed manner, subject to secrecy and security, to exercise their right to vote during the general elections. news desk

Speech by an absconder at concluding Asma Jahangir Conference ‘contempt of judiciary’: Fawad ISLAMABAD news desk

Petrol pump owners announce countrywide strike on Nov 25 All Pakistan Petrol Pump Dealers Association (APPDA) on Sunday called for a countrywide strike on November 25 over the government’s reluctance on hiking the dealers’ margin to 6 per cent. As per details, in a press conference held in this regard, an official of the APPDA said that the time to negotiate had passed, adding that there will be no talks with the government now until their demands are met.

“There will be no leniency until their margin of commissioned has been hiked,” the official added. The petrol pump dealers association had earlier announced to go on strike on November 5 following the call of the central organisation to demand the hike in commission but after their negotiations with government, they called the strike off. It may be mentioned here that the association has complained of operating petrol pumps with a meager margin, which has further taken a hit due to the ongoing inflation, rupee devaluation, lease and franchise issues with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and rising cost of doing business. “Margins are fixed in absolute terms and have been increased by a few paisas based on CPI. Therefore, sustainable operation of pumps is not viable anymore, a situation which may lead to closures if margins are not revised upward by at least 6pc of the sale price,” the APPDA chairman had said. It is pertinent to mention here that a meeting between the APPDA and government had agreed that a committee will resolve the issue of margins on a long term basis. However, the outcome will be converted into a summary for the federal cabinet’s economic coordination committee (ECC). news desk

Federal Minister for Information and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that the conclusion of the Asma Jahangir conference with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s speech is “a contempt of judges and judiciary”.

“Conference addressed by CJP and senior judges is concluding with speech by an absconder. It’s nothing but a contempt of judges and the judiciary,” Chaudhry tweeted.

The federal minister later said that he has turned down the invitation to the event, held in Lahore in memory of late human rights activist and trailblazing lawyer Asma Jahangir.

“I had been invited to the Asma Jahangir Conference today. I was told that the conference will conclude with the speech of an absconder,” said the minister.

Fire guts 100 huts in slum in Karachi KARACHI Monitoring report

A fire erupted in a slum in Karachi, destroying about 100 huts, a fire official said. No one was hurt in the blaze. According to Inayat Ullah, a senior official at the city’s central fire station, the fire erupted in the dwellings along the Lyari River, under a bridge in central Karachi in the Teenhatti neighbourhood. About 10 firetrucks arrived at the scene quickly and managed to extinguish the flames after several hours. It was not immediately known what started the blaze, he said, adding that such incidents frequently happen with the onset of cold weather when the poor living in the makeshift homes in the slums light fires to keep warm. A similar fire last year gutted about a hundred of the burlap-and-plastic dwellings in the same neighbourhood, whose residents get by mostly by working odd jobs and begging. No one was seriously hurt in that laze either. By daylight, men, women and children of Teenhatti were seen searching for any belongings they could salvage from the ashes. In Karachi, thousands live in open areas along the Lyari.

Some have tin roofs but the majority of the houses are made up of cane, burlap and plastic.

Number of microfinance borrowers increases to record 8.2m Fawad went on to say that inviting Nawaz Sharif to make a speech at Asma Jahangir Conference is “tantamount to mocking the country and the constitution”, therefore he has excused himself from attending the conference.

He further said that he has advised the Supreme Court Bar Association to “remain neutral”.

“Advised SCBA that they should remain neutral, only then lawyers can contribute!” he wrote.

Gunmen shoot dead three coal miners in Harnai: official QUETTA staff report

Gunmen shot and killed three workers at a coal mine in the Harnai district of Balochistan, officials said on Sunday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Harnai Deputy Commissioner Sohail Anwar Hashmi said the early morning violence took place in the Sharag area where most of the province’s coal mines are located.

Hashmi said the deceased belonged to Kandahar city of Afghanistan. The bodies were later taken to Rural Health Centre in Shahrag town for medico-legal formalities.

Harnai is located about 124 miles (200 kilometres) northeast of Quetta. Hashmi said counterterrorism and local police teams were searching for the assailants.

Militant groups such as Balochistan Liberation Army

(BLA) receiving funding from India have previously claimed responsibility for similar attacks on coal miners in the region. In January, gunmen abducted a group of workers from a coal mine in the district of Bolan and shot them dead in a nearby mountainous area. Authorities found 11 bodies and three wounded at the site.

Later, in August, armed men had gunned down three coal miners working in the Marwar coalfield area, some 70 kilometres from Quetta.

The assailants had entered the area in the night and escaped after killing the miners. Security forces personnel deployed at the nearby check-post had gotten the information late because there was no mobile phone service in the hilly neighbourhood.

The gas- and mineral-rich province has been the scene of a low-level militancy for some years.

The number of active microfinance borrowers increased 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to an alltime high of 8.2 million at the end of the July-September quarter. According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) which was analysed by Dawn, the national association for retail players in the microfinance industry — as many as 161,318 customers joined the ranks of active borrowers in the third quarter of 2021, up 2pc from the preceding three-month period. In the July-September quarter, the microfinance provider with the highest number of active borrowers was Mobilink Microfinance Bank (2m), followed by Khushhali Bank (838,789) and Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (764,287). The gross loan portfolio (GLP) amounted to Rs365 billion, up 2.8pc from a quarter ago and 18pc from a year ago. Khushhali Bank was the biggest player in terms of the GLP as its asset book had outstanding microcredit of Rs68.2bn. It was followed by First Microfinance Bank (Rs50.5bn) and Mobilink Microfinance Bank (Rs34.9bn). The number of active savers increased to 72.5m, up 3.1pc from a quarter ago and 24pc from a year ago. The value of total savings grew to Rs384bn, up 1.4pc and 20pc on a quarterly and yearly basis, respectively. The average loan size grew from Rs17,320 to Rs23,846 on a quarterly basis as the number of loans disbursed decreased 29.1pc owing to the “seasonal variation”.

Credit risk, indicated by the portfolio-at-risk or loans that have been outstanding for more than 30 days, increased from 5.2pc to 5.9pc. Monitoring report

Qureshi claims PTI to enjoy heavy public mandate in 2023 polls MULTAN staff report

Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday said the incumbent government would not only complete its ongoing constitutional term, but the masses would, once again, give heavy mandate to Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) in elections 2023.

He expressed these views while addressing a reception here at the residence of PTI leader Malik Farman, at Union Council 52, in NA156.

Qureshi stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan was striving hard against menace of corruption as the eradication of corruption was part of PTI’s manifesto. “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf wants to give the nation a strong system and a bright future for coming generations,” said FM. The PTI government also wishes long-term

development, said Qureshi.

“We want the people to walk with their heads held high. Similarly, we want to uplift the dignity of country, ensure rule of law and eradication of corruption,” FM Qureshi reiterated.

The foreign minister stated that the government wanted to address deprivations given to the people, during the previous regimes. The nation must support PTI government for a better future. For the first time in the history of the country, people’s money was being spent only on public development. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s policies were being welcomed at home and abroad, claimed Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

“Our policies will have far-reaching and positive results,” Qureshi hoped.

The FM remarked that the country’s progress was not being digested by some politicians who were out of power. “The Opposition did not wanted the wheel of progress to remain

continue. It wants to stop the journey of development by making noise. No matter how much noise they make, development of the country cannot be stopped,” assured Qureshi.

The disappointed politicians, sitting out of power, will have to wait. The desire to end the PTI government will remain just a desire, said FM Qureshi.

A large number of PTI workers including Rana Abdul Jabbar, Khizer Hayat Baloch, Babar Shah, Rao Amjad Ali, Makhdoom Shoaib Akmal Hashmi were present on the occasion.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi spent a busy day in Multan.

He visited the residences of various deceased persons in the constituency where he prayed for the reward of the deceased souls and for elevation of their ranks. Later, the foreign minister planted a tree in a private housing society in connection with the tree plantation campaign.

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk